Monster Girls and Aliens
by Zae'lah
Summary: Two factions fighting for a cause. One wishes utopia for both monsters and men while the other wishes for the peace of humanity and humanity alone. A visitor beyond the stars has arrived. What kind of fate awaits to all of them with this newcomer? (Rated M for adult contents.)
1. Chapter 1

**_Ben 10 and MGE belong to their rightful owners._**

**_Warning: (Possible) Grammar Issues ahead._**

**XXX**

**Monster Girls and Aliens**

**(Miles away from Zipangu port.)**

Far from the voyaging ships' path, a giant tear in reality formed from above, creating a swirling-like wave in the sky, similar to that of a water whirlpool, but in a very odd way. It was all night time when it happened; even the mamonos who are swimming near the surface of the water did not took note of this strange phenomenon. However, a few of those mamonos did take notice of the strange event unfolding above them. The group was consisted of two Mermaids and a Sea Bishop.

The Mermaids were known for their beautiful voice and gentle disposition. The Sea Bishops were basically known as the priest of the ocean and served the God of the Sea, Poseidon. Their existence was crucially needed in ocean for the other monsters.

The group stared in confusion and was curious as to what that thing in sky was. They were somewhat enthralled and afraid because of its mysterious nature and the uncertainty of what will happen after. Alas, they still continue staring at it nevertheless. The sea was calm despite the raging waves caused by the strong winds. The sky was also full stars and the moon glowed brightly in the darkness of the night. It was all disturbed by a single phenomenon that was not very naked to the eye yet if one would focus their attention, a not so discernable phenomenon can be seen unfolding.

"Wha-what do you think it is, sister?" The Mermaid asked the Sea Bishop.

"I do not know, Cora. How about you, Kishiko?" The Sea Bishop asked the other Mermaid.

"I am not also sure. I do not exactly have the slightest idea of what it is, Sister Nerine." The other Mermaid replied.

Although Mermaids were not that curious about most of the things, this one in particular had really caught their eyes. The two never knew why, but something from it was forcing them to stay still and watch as the weird portal does what it does. Many ideas came up in their mind. One of which was the possibility that it was a portal. It was more plausible as they heard stories of other Mamonos having the ability to do this, especially those mamonos who were residing within the Demon Realm. It was really possible besides the other weird stuffs that also came up in their minds.

"I think it is a portal." The Sea Bishop named Nerine said.

"Eh?" Both Mermaids muttered in unison.

"What?" She looked at them, raising an eyebrow as she did.

"I mean it is the only thing I can come up with unless you two have any more ideas."

"I do not really know, Sister, but if it is a portal, then why would it appear in the middle of the sea? Wouldn't it make sense if it will appear on the shore or on the land, right?" Kishiko replied.

"True… Plus, I do not know anyone that belongs or related to our race that has this kind of ability, and if someone actually did, why would they even try to open a portal up in the sky?" She added.

"Yeah, that is really weird." Cora agreed with Kishiko.

"How about we let the others know about this so we can learn what it actually is?" She suggested.

"You have a point. And I do like the idea of… wait look up!" Sister Nerine shouted at the two as the said 'portal' started to swirl violently.

An odd crack in reality seemed to appear and a black void forms in the center of it whilst emitting what appeared to be streaks of light. It also started to expand, distorting the lights from stars that were near it. They then saw what appeared to be a maw-like appearance from the portal. Suddenly, it spat something, like a ball of fire onto the ocean where they currently were. It caused a loud explosion as it landed on the water in great speed. The mamonos who were already watching the scene quickly swam in to the direction where the portal spat out the fireball thing.

While the two Mermaids focused their attention and speed on where it spat the fireball, Nerine slowed down and took a glimpse from where the object came from. But when she stared back to the sky where it originated, the portal was gone and not a single evidence is left like nothing had happened in the area. The sky was normal again and the distorted light from the stars were back on its normal state.

"Strange, very strange." She said.

She quickly head back to the two Mermaids.

Once they had reached the object, the first thing that they had noticed was the very strange appearance of the… the thing, whatever it was. The object's shape was oval, but irregular as the lower part seemed to be wider than the other side, closely resembling to that of a shape of an egg. It was also adorned with strange lightings and things that were attached to it. The condition of the object was surprisingly good as no visible damage can be seen. They expected it to have some burns or dented parts, however none can be found on it. Moreover, the object was rather huge than they anticipated.

"Amazing. This thing has no dents on it even after crashing on the water." Cora complimented.

"Indeed." Sister Nerine agreed. She may no smith or good at metallurgy, but she can still tell if something was impressive or not. However, a question came to her mind. What is this object for?

Sister Nerine cannot help but to think the purpose of the said object. She was brought back in reality no sooner.

The salt water that surrounded it began to bubble up. The group was confused as to what was happening to the object, but then quickly realized that the object was actually sinking! They panicked but then they asked as to why they were panicking about it. They chose to ignore that question in their head while swiftly climbing on it. Thankfully, the water had quickly cooled it down after the impact so they did not worry much about the possible burn that they could receive from it. The Sea Bishop inquisitively searched for something she can learn from it.

"Why are we so worried?" Nishiko had suddenly fully realized their actions.

"I don't know myself, but my mind is telling me that we need to do something to this object." Sister Nerine answered.

"I think someone is inside!" Cora shouted. The other Mermaid, Nishiko and the Sea Bishop head's perked up in unison and swiftly approached their companion. After heading to their companion, they found what seemed to be a glass. It must had been a really tough glass to be able to survive the impact without shattering.

The Sea Bishop's instinct already telling her to open it, but how? The only object she could closely compare was to that of a coffin or casket. And coffins and caskets had contraptions or locks on them so they be closed or opened. However, this one does not have any! Like it was just made to create a perfect oval stuff, and just make it hollow inside. Who would even create something like this? She does not know if that person was on his/her right mind to design such horrible thing. And for what purpose does it serve? There was also the fact that someone was actually inside, but how can you put someone inside when there were no obvious openings or locks? This made her head hurt out of frustration. However, she knew that she needed to be calm and find a way to open this… sarcophagus. Yes, it was like a sarcophagus. Compare to this and to their other mamono counter-parts in the desert regions, their sarcophagus at least had some locks or something to them.

"How can we even open this thing?" Nishiko whined as she desperately trying to look for any openings. Like the Sea Bishop, Sister Nerine, she too was growing frustrated about the object.

"Maybe we can…" Cora accidently touched a certain part of the object and there, a hissing noise came afterward. The three jerked at this, definitely surprised as they did not expect it to make a weird sound. The very close sound they could describe or compare it to was that of the sound of a snake.

Back on the group, the three instinctively jumped back on the water as smoke began to erupt from the said object. The Mermaid, Cora, was worried if she had done something bad on it while the smoke started to came up and move downward.

"Uh...uh did-did I… Did I do something wrong?" She asked, worried about what she possibly had done wrong.

"I-I was just trying to help you guys, you know." She added.

"I understand, Cora. You were just trying to help us I know." Her friend Nishiko assured. Cora nodded shyly.

"Look, something is rising from that thing." Sister Nerine said to them as she pointed at the silhouette of a tall, slender… creature.

It seemed that the being have two abnormally long arms and two, what seemed to be, tentacles or tendrils on its back. She couldn't tell much about it as it looked so flat like a… cloth or bandage? Not only that, when the cloud in the sky fully revealed the moonlight above, it illuminated the whole ocean a little bit and there… she saw what the creature was.

It has pharaoh-like headdress, two black bracers and greaves. Its body was fully covered in bandage. So it was bandage that was hanging on its back all along. The creature was strongly akin to that of an actual… mummy and pharaoh! Not only that. The creature's limbs and eyes were also glowing eerily green, and there was something attached to its chest.

She stared dumbfounded and tried to make sense of what was actually happening. First was the weird portal in the sky, next as the ridiculous sarcophagus and last, this? It does not make any sense at all! Why was a mamono, that belonged in the desert region would be here in the ocean? She rubbed her temple and tried to approach the mamono. The two Mermaids, warily, followed her. But she was halted from her track when the said mamono regarded her with an eerie stare. She absent-mindedly gulped.

The two Mermaids on her side approached her.

"Sister Nerine, am I really looking at a mummy right now?" Cora asked.

"'She' was more akin to that of a pharaoh rather than a mummy, but 'she', indeed, looks like a mummy because of the bandages around 'her'." Nishiko said.

"Strange, shouldn't 'she' be voluptuous or something? 'She' is so slender… or thin? And 'her' body is all covered in bandages for some reason." She added.

"What do you think of it, Sister Nerine?" She asked the Sea Bishop.

"Mayhap we can talk to 'her'?" Sister Nerine suggested.

"Eh? Can we really talk to a mummy?" Cora seemed to find the idea too outrageous.

"Well, I'm going to try anyway." Nishiko said to her.

"Hello!" She greeted the mummy while waving her hand. The mummy then regarded her with stare like it did to the Sea Bishop.

"Uh, do you talk, right? You know it's really dangerous here."

"Ridiculous!" Cora interjected.

"How can that mamono talk? There is no way that mamono will be talking."

'_Hello… there…' _Cora was stunned when the mummy can actually talk, but… seemed to be in a different language. What was more was the tone of 'her' voice. It sounded like it belonged to a royal one. In addition, the voice does not sound like it belonged to a female but more like to a… male one. It's impossible since the Demon Lord was a succubus and all monsters should be a female now.

'_I cannot understand what you are saying…' _It said, but all that came out from it was just plain, incomprehensible gibberish for them.

"Sister Nerine, what should we do about 'her'? We can't do much for 'her' situation. And from the looks of 'her', 'she' seems to be docile for… now." Nishiko asked.

"We can bring 'her' to the land. The nearest is Zipangu." The Sea Bishop suggested.

"Are you sure that is a good idea? You know what mummies can do when they become hungry, right?" Nishiko clearly did not like the idea of an undead lurking around in Zipangu.

"There is also the fact that 'she' will be killed once they lay their eyes on 'her'. However…" She stopped.

"However?" Sister Nerine raised a brow.

"I don't think that this mummy is just an ordinary mummy at all. 'She' could be a pharaoh too because of 'her' appearance." Nishiko answered.

"Well, you can also add the fact that 'her' height is abnormally tall." Cora added.

The three of them continued to talk, trying to figure out on what do with the strange mamono. Unbeknownst to them, the strange mamono took note of its surrounding and noticed that its 'sarcophagus' was now sinking, almost 1/4 of the body remained on the surface, but soon it will also disappear as it will be consumed by the depths of the ocean too. So, it took the initiative and kneeled. It reeled its whole body and there…

"Kyah!" The three mamonos screamed in total surprise as the 'mummy' jumped and landed right to them. Without wasting time, after it landed on them, the mummy quickly wrapped its bandages, latching onto one them. The two Mermaids had successful free themselves from its grasp. The Sea Bishop on the other hand was very unlucky as the mummy's bandages tightly wrapped around her, never letting her go.

"Sister Nerine!" The two mermaids called out of worry and fear.

"Please, please, let go! Do not hurt me!" The Sea Bishop pleaded to the mummy whilst still trying to remove herself from the grasp of the undead. She felt that the bandages around her loosened a bit after she said that. Does that mean she could understand her? Of course, she could. Mummies were once humans, but she was not sure for their intellect. Maybe this one was really different from the rest. From its appearance alone, she can already tell that this is not a normal mummy at all.

"Sister Nerine, are you alright?! The mummy is still latching onto you." Nishiko said to her.

"I-I think I'm fine, Nishiko." She was not sure about that.

"Maybe, 'she' just need some help?" Sister Nerine said shakily, still completely afraid of the fact that the mummy was still hugging her. She tried to stare at it, but when she and the mummy's emerald eyes met, she shivered.

"You can understand me right?" The mummy nodded, albeit for the strange mummy, it honestly cannot understand what the mermaid was telling to it.

"Do-do you want to go to the land? Do you want to go home?" Sister Nerine asked her. The mummy nodded. She took a deep breath after this. It seemed that the mummy just simply wanted to go home. The peculiar one also seemed to understand what she was saying.

"I… I think… we are good." The Sea Bishop told the two Mermaids. The two Mermaids sighed in relief.

"So, she just wants to go home, right, sister Nerine?" Nishiko asked yet still wary of the mummy.

"Yes…" Sister Nerine smiled.

"But it will take days to reach the shore from here." Cora said.

"True, but this region is also close to the merchants' ships route. We could wait there until one will arrive."

"But, Sister, how can we know if there's a ship heading in that way right now?" Cora questioned.

"I think our problem is already solved, Cora." Nishiko told her.

"Eh?"

"I mean 'she' is already looking at one right now." Sister Nerine and Cora turned their head to look onto the direction where creature was staring right now. Yes, there was a ship a mile away. Its light can be seen clearly from afar because of the surrounding darkness that contrasted it.

"Well, let's start to head there." Nishiko said to them.

"Isn't that dangerous? I mean who knows what the people inside of that ship are." Cora doubted.

"You worry so much, Cora. It's just a merchant ship, and based from the direction it is heading, it is probably going to Zipangu. So let's go. Come on, Sister Nerine." Cora rolled her eyes and followed her companions.

**XXX**

**(In the Merchant Ship…)**

"C'mon, c'mon, wake your arses up!" The ship captain yelled to his crews consisting of both monsters and men.

"Seriously, Caps? I haven't slept enough!" One of the monsters whined.

"Shut it, Tengu. And how many times do I have to tell you that to address me as Captain Galton Howes the Master Sailor!" The Captain of the ship named Galton Howes berated.

The Tengu just rolled an eyed while the others shuddered in embarrassment because of their captain's self-proclaimed title 'The Master Sailor'. Although the title alone was not too far-fetched as despite the old man's rambling, he was indeed well-experienced in terms of sailing ships as far as the other old humans or monsters that had sailed with him before could tell. Though the one only problem was that he always forced that title to anyone regardless of who or what they were. He was a good sailor indeed, but not a master at all. They could even name some that were better than him. And as to why he was still sailing in spite of his attitude was beyond them. Some old folks said that despite the old man's 'attitude', he was actually good at heart, willing to help anyone whether if they were monsters or men.

"Hmph! More like the master 'whiner'." The Tengu scoffed silently.

"Huh?! You sayin' something there, young lady?" The grumpy old captain questioned.

"Nothing, ole 'Master Sailor', captain Galton Howes." The Tengu replied whilst sarcastically smiling at him.

"Heh, that'll do." The captain nodded in satisfaction. "I'm still wondering why you can't just fly there instead of sailing with us. Anyways…" His face then turned into a serious one.

"Now, as you can see we are still in the middle of the sea, yeah? Well, I have a bad news on you, lads." He told them. This had gathered the attentions of all monsters and men in the ship's deck.

"What bad news, Captain Galton Howes?" One of the crewmen asked.

The captain then went to sniff the air and exhaled.

"Ah, yes. The scent from the wind is very different yet familiar." Their captain said.

Riddled by the old man's statement, these caused some eyebrows to arise amongst them.

"So you have a keen smell, Captain Galton Howes. Now what does this scent implies? Are we on a perilous situation or not?" A Red Oni in particular asked, a bit worried.

"Eh, are you really taking him that seriously? You know, he's a bit uh… unhinge." A young crew member told her.

"Oi!" The Captain rebutted.

"What the hell are you sayin'? That I'm crazy eh? I'm adept in this line of work as far in terms of sailing goes, lad." He chided young man.

"My insight in this job is far too deep. Deep enough that no can see through it!" He proudly said.

"Yeah, yeah whatever." The young man shrugged.

"This old man is quite interesting yet odd at the same." One of the crewmen said.

"I concur." An Inari agreed.

"Huh, wait. Aren't you supposed to be with your husband right now below the deck?" The said crewman took note.

"Oh, well. You see, we are already done with our lovey-dovey. The way he caressed my body…" The Inari blushed and goes on for more specific details of her intimacy with her husband.

The crewman simply sweat-dropped at her. Suddenly, they heard a splash of water coming from the right side of the ship. All of their attentions were diverted on that direction and there they saw a woman with fin ears and a star accessory on her hair. Most of the men tensed as if expecting something would rise up from the depths of the sea and attack them or the ship, mostly likely a Kraken. The mamonos who were boarding the ship were also terrified because some of them had brought their husbands along with them.

"My, you almost gave us a heart attack right there, my dear." The Inari said to her, placing her right hand on her chest, breathing deeply in relief.

"I-I'm sorry to disturb you in your journey. My name is Cora and I need a favor, so please listen." The mermaid pleaded.

The Blue Oni crossed her arms.

"Hmph, what kind of favor do you-" She halted when she noticed something or more like someone behind the back of the Mermaid.

The rest of the men and mamonos tensed up, and prepared themselves as they took a fighting a stance. Fear emanated on their eyes as their gazes are fixed on the… creature. Amidst the dark sea, a green pair of eyes glowed, watching them silently. The creature had finally shown its full appearance when it completely board the ship, revealing to be a mummy. But, they knew that this was no mere mummy at all. The mummy itself was too tall and thin to be one. What's more was how the bandages crept around it, moving like tentacles. The pair of bracelet the mummy has was glowing and has the same color of its eyes. What baffled them was accessories the mummy had, something that belonged to the Pharaohs.

"What are you doing?! You're clearly scaring them!" The Mermaid scolded the Mummy, in which simply regarded her with its stare again.

"Is that a Mummy or a Pharaoh?" Someone asked in confusion. The Mummy's terrifying gaze then shifted to them. This had sent shivers down to their spine.

"Please, do not attack 'her'! 'She' mean no harm!" The Mermaid begged them.

"So you know this Mummy, huh?" The blue Oni muttered spitefully, glaring right directly the creature, clearly not fond of the idea of a Mummy being on their ship.

"Oi, what the hell are you doing? Don't dare try causing some ruckus here on my ship!" The Captain bellowed which was ignored by the Blue Oni.

The Mummy had noticed the hostility of the blue Oni and 'she' too took a fighting stance, as if expecting her to attack. The Oni snarled viciously whilst the Mummy stared at her, not making any sound.

"At ease, everyone!" A Sea Bishop boarded their ship. Their attentions then went to the newcomer.

"Lady, you better explain the situation very well, lest you will cause chaos on this ship." The Captain told her gravely.

He too was wary of the creature. Most monsters can be reasoned with even if there were some that were savages, but a word to an undead? How could he or anyone reason with them? Rumors said that they take men regardless if it was their personal volition or not. Once the hunger took in, they will forcefully shove themselves to a man, sucking the life out of them.

"Very well. Let me introduce myself first. I am a Sister Nerine and I have a noble duty to be done when I stumble upon her. You see, our friend mummy here said that she wants to go home." She told the humans and mamonos onboard.

"So you're telling me, priest, that the mummy can speak?" The Oni had surmised, completely not believing that such undead creature can do, at least this one in particular.

"Then why can't she just talk to us so that we can alleviate the situation." One of the crewmen suggested.

"Well, she never really talk, she's more into gestures. She just nods. And, do not expect for her to understand much of our language." The Sea Bishop clarified.

"But, Sister Nerine, didn't she talk to us lately?" Cora remembered.

"She did, however her words were all gibberish for us." The Sea Bishop then turned her gaze on the humans and mamonos.

"Trust me, she wishes no harm to all of us. You can guarantee my words." She then turned her attention to the mummy beside her.

"If you can understand me a little bit, can I ask you to greet them?" The Mummy listened to her and, seemed telepathically, get what she was trying to imply.

'She' lightened at little bit from 'her' aggressive stance and took a formal one. The said mummy then bowed right at them. After taking a bow, 'she' waved at them, trying to ease up the declining situation 'she' had against the group.

"Okay, that's enough, welcome aboard!" The Captain welcomed 'her'.

All the stares shifted right at him swiftly. Their expressions were mixed. Some were surprised while some were finding it hard to believe what the old man just said.

"Seriously, Cap, again?" The Tengu questioned him in frustration.

"You cannot honestly bring that thing with us back to Zipangu, right?" She pointed at the sight of the mummy.

Sister Nerine watched as an argument had sparked amongst them. The Sea Bishop can only do is to sigh.

'_This is going to be a long talk…'_

**XXX**

**(Later…)**

The Sea Bishop had finally convinced the people in the ship after a long painful talk. They bade their farewells and they went on their own ways. The rest of the crews were just there, standing, staring at the sight of the mummy. But soon, they returned to their usual routine.

"This is ridiculous!" The Blue Oni complained.

"That thing should be forbidden in this ship!" She yelled in frustration.

"Hmm, my dear, I wish that you will not do something so harsh. I know you have not found a man you like yet, but please, refrain for being violent." The Inari jested.

"Do not ever bring that fact to my face, you fox! And watch me." The Blue Oni angrily marched towards the mummy who was idly watching over them.

The mummy took note of her presence and tilted its head, as if asking what she was intending to do. Despite the obvious size different between them, being the mummy twice as tall as the Oni, the Oni, unexpectedly grabbed the mummy's chest and threw 'her' across the deck and straight to the sea. Unbeknownst to her, the mummy had quickly stretched its bandages from both of its arms and coil to the ship's handrails and pulled itself back to the ship again. The men and mamonos were surprised from the scene that had transpired right before their eyes.

"Nice trick you got with your bandages." The blue Oni complimented while cracking her knuckles.

"Throwing you off of the ship is not the only thing I can do!" The Oni then charged right at the mummy.

"Raghh!" The Oni leaped into the air and right at the direction of the mummy. The mummy quickly sidestepped away from the raging Oni. It used its arm right arm as a whip and struck the Oni with it right in the face before she could regain any momentum from her initial jump. The mummy then launched its bandages from its free arm right towards the Oni. The Oni snarled at this. With great reflex, she bended down to avoid them. In a swift motion, she went to grab the bandages before they could retract back and pulled the mummy with great force. She punched the undead right at the face.

The sheer force from the punch had thrown the mummy back completely before colliding on a wall. A breaking sound of wood can be heard all over the ship, waking all the passengers that were sleeping below the deck. Although it was already dawn now, the sun was still far from rising.

"Whoa! Did she just kill the mummy?!" One of the crewmen gasped.

"What the hell is happening?" The other mamonos and men who were below the deck lately had asked until they caught the sight of a Blue Oni and a… mummy or pharaoh, they don't know which one was which.

"Oi! Can you stop what you are doing! You're not only causing ruckus, but also destroying my ship!" The Captain bellowed, in which was ignored by the Blue Oni.

He quickly called for someone to manage the stirring wheel of the ship. He rushed into the fray and to the sight of the mummy that was still attached to the wooden wall. The Captain went to the right thing first, checking the pulse of the mummy. Albeit it sounded so stupid, he was not really sure if this 'mamono' had any pulse at all because any mamono of this kind.

"Tch, you're going to answer for this once we get back!" He told the Oni.

"Hmph!" The Oni puffed a chest. "I only did what is right thing to do." She rebutted.

"Yeah, ya'll probably pay for your recklessness." The Captain countered.

The Captain went for the neck and still, he did not feel anything at all. He clicked a tongue out of annoyance until he found something… odd. Out of curiosity, he went to poke the body of the mummy. He managed to put his hand inside between the gaps of the mummy's bandages and felt… none.

"What the hell?" He muttered in surprised.

The mummy's eyes went wide and stared directly at him and onto the sight of the Oni. Captain Galton Howes was shocked and quickly stepped back, removing his hand as fast as he could from the said 'mamono'.

The mummy stood up and readied itself. The Oni smirked.

"Heh, so you can survive that impact, huh? Very well. I have not warmed up yet." She told her.

"Oh dear…" The Inari sighed.

The Oni charged at the mummy. She was surprised when the mummy did the same thing. However, when she was very close to the undead, it took a great leap and a front flip. While in the air upside-down, it extended its bandages from one of its arm and wrapped around her leg. What surprised her more was when she was lifted from the deck with great speed by the undead easily much to her surprise. The mummy slammed her back on the ship's deck, causing a loud crash. She spat out some saliva then blood after landing with her back.

The viewers were completely amazed at the mummy and terrified at the sight of the blue Oni. Amaze because of the incredible strength 'she' had and terrified of what it did to the poor mamono.

"We should help her!" The Crow Tengu said. The other nodded and quickly rushed the blue Oni. They tried to help her to stand but she refuted.

"I can still stand on my own." She told them, will still unwavering. "Now where is that undead?"

She saw the undead there… hanging in the foremast of the ship like a spider. What strange was how the undead's body was moving like the sails of the ship. They felt a chill when 'she' started to slithered 'her' body down from the foremast like a snake. It seemed like 'she' does not have any bones at all.

"Okay, that's very creepy." The Inari said.

"I agree." The Tengu affirmed like the rest.

"You are a peculiar one no doubt. Now time to finish this little show of ours." The Blue Oni charged right at the undead. But this time however, the undead did not make a move.

"Foolish…" The Oni smirked viciously. She readied her claws to pierce 'her'.

"Hey! The hell are you doing? Are you going to kill her?!" The Captain yelled out of shock and horror. The rest of the crews and the people on the deck were also horrified.

When she finally made contact with the body of the undead, in the blink of an eye, the body actually split in two, creating an opening. And like a venus flytrap, it quickly closed itself, trapping her in the process.

"Damn, did anyone see what she did? She splits herself in half just to trap the Oni!" One of the crowds shouted.

"Yeah, it like she's hollow inside? Wait is she actually hollow inside?" The created a confusion amongst them.

Captain Galton did not care what this kind of mamono this was. He only hoped that they end up this little spectacle of theirs. It was true that the said mummy was unique in some way, according to the sea dwellers, but he was not expecting something like this. He watched how the Blue Oni struggled from the bandages around her wrapping like spider webbing. It seemed the mummy had enough already and does not want to make the fight any longer.

Once 'she' was done, 'she' placed the angry Oni down. The Oni screamed in defiance while writhing her body like a worm, trying to break free. Then there was a snap as they saw the bandages slowly tear apart. The mummy was fast to response and added more bandages around the Oni to subdue her. When the undead think that it was enough, 'she' pulled 'her' fist back and punched the Oni, knocking her cold completely.

The Captain sighed at this while the other stared in disbelief.

"Did the mummy just put the Oni out cold? Damn…" One of them actually complimented.

Gossips and murmurs then erupted from the crowd, but the undead seemed to not care at all. They then saw the undead pulled the unconscious Oni and carried her in bridal style. At first, they thought 'she' was going to throw the Oni on the ocean in which they were ready to defy no matter what the undead was and the capability it had.

They breathed in relieve when the mummy was actually heading below the deck, probably putting the yet unconscious Oni on a bed in an empty cabin. The others, both mamonos and men, decided to help the undead. However, they were stopped by the owner of the ship, Captain Howes himself. He insisted that he will take care of them.

**XXX**

**(Below the ship's deck…)**

The mummy had placed the Oni down on a bed of an unoccupied room. Carefully, they took the care of her wounds.

"Excuse, me?" A Danuki suddenly came inside.

"Oh, what brings you here, uh…?" The captain paused.

"My name is Tamaki, Iwata Tamaki." She answered.

"Sorry, I'm not really good at remembering my passengers' name, I'm getting really old. Hehehe…" The Danuki only smiled.

"Well, good morning to you, Miss Iwata. I'm very sorry that some passengers caused some… show." He apologized.

"It's fine. I'm already awake before the commotion happened." She clarified to him.

"Still, I beg your pardon." The Old man insisted. "Anyways, what brings you hear, ma'am?"

"I'm here to check the Oni's health." She went on to inspect the situation of the said mamono, she then clicked a tongue.

"What? Did this mummy do any severe damage or worst to her?" The Captain worried.

"Not really. The Oni are really tough so you do not need to worry that much. She is alive, but she will be out for a day or more." She then pulled something out of her pouches. They were medicinal herbs. She gave it to them. The Captain raised an eyebrow because of this.

"You sure?" He asked. The Danuki nodded.

"Well, thanks for these." He took and placed them on the empty table right beside the bed.

"How do you know about healing stuff by the way?" He was curious.

"As a Merchant, you need to be prepared at anything. Danger always lurks in my line of job, especially when travelling near the borders of the Order. That is why I study about medicine a little bit." She answered.

The Danuki watched as they treated their patient. Her sight then shifted at the mummy who was also treating the unconscious mamono and how it used its own bandage to wrap the herbal leaves on the Oni's head. What was more was that after cutting its bandage from its own body, the bandages itself regrew like a tentacle in a great pace.

"What a strange fellow." She said.

And the day goes on…

**(A few days later…)**

"We're here!" The Captain shouted happily to his crews and passengers of his ship.

They then set the bridge and tied the ropes of the ship to the posts. Whilst the others were busy disembarking from the ship, a certain Mamono had just awoken from her long slumber.

"Ugh… it still hurts." She rubbed her head and noticed there were leaves wrapped around it.

"What is this?" She then remembered the night when he fought the 'undead!' She quickly pushed herself to get up and saw the mummy!

Just right there, standing in the corner, watching her. Her eyes narrowed at 'her'. The door suddenly opened and it was the Captain himself who decided to check up on her.

"Good morning sunshine. Didn't really have your name though." The Captain asked.

"The name is Yusa, Kogane Yusa, Captain Galton." She introduced herself briefly.

"Good morning again, Yusa. Lucky me, there's a watcher for you." He told her.

"Hmph, I'm presuming that this mummy is my 'watcher' while I'm still unconscious, am I right?" She commented.

"Yeah, all day and night, she's just here, taking a good care of you. I think the lady felt sorry from what 'she' did to you the night when the two of you fought out." He said to her.

"Hope you learned your lesson now." He added.

"Thanks, I guess… and sorry." She said towards the mummy who just nodded in response.

"Whelp, since you look good now, I gotta go. Hey, you better take care of her since you overdid that punch of yours." The Captain told the mummy before leaving.

The mummy approached the Oni who was surprised when the undead had offered 'her' a hand to her. She warily stared at it first, then took it.

**(At the port…)**

The mummy assisted the Oni along the way. The Captain told the Oni that the mummy was her responsibility. She scoffed and asked how the mummy became her responsibility. Captain Galton reminded her of the damage she did on his ship. She could be imprisoned for damaging the properties of other people. Although she tried to reason that the mummy can be a threat to others, the Captain did not listen to this reason. He said that the mummy had done nothing to his men or women aboard the ship. In fact, 'she' stayed with her, checking her all day, all night. If the mummy was in need of sustenance, then 'she' should had attacked the men aboard already. So far 'she' did nothing.

They argue for a few minutes before the Oni had given up and took the responsibility of the mummy. It was a better option than paying the damage that would cost a lot.

"Okay, you better help me with these barrels." She pointed at the barrels of rum. There were 6 in total.

"You see, I have two arms so you need to carry the rest until we find and rent a wagon or a cart." The mummy went for the barrels and stretched its arms and bandages and carried all of them.

Yusa stared in slight amazement when the mummy lifted all the barrels with 'her' bandages without making much effort.

"You are really strong, are you not? Well, that is good. I can save some money from renting a wagon for these stuffs so come on and follow me." The mummy nodded and followed her.

**(Along the way…)**

Yusa gulped as she took a glimpse from left to right and found that all of the attentions of the inhabitants were on them. It seemed the mummy was indeed a strange sight to see in this place. 'Her' height is not even helping either as 'she' was very tall. 'She' can be easily spotted amongst the crowd. The Oni swore that she saw a Jorou-Gumo an Arachne-like species made a hissing expression and a Kunoichi drawing her sword out that was slightly hidden from her kimono. She could tell because the blade had slightly glimmered under the sun's light.

"We-we better hurry!" She said shakily, increasing the pace of her walking, so did the mummy.

'_This is going to be a long day.' _She said to herself.

**XXX**

_To be continued…_


	2. Chapter 2

**_Ben 10 and MGE belong to their rightful owners._**

**_Warning: (Possible) Grammar Issues ahead._**

**XXX**

**Home**

**(Zipangu, near the coastal area…)**

"Finally, we're home!" Yusa joyfully yelled after they had reached her house without causing any problem because of her new friend or so. She was, still, a bit nervous during their course as more and more people, both mamonos and humans glaring dagger at them. Precautious and fearful, it is an expected reaction after seeing an undead, in their land, where it should not been there in the first place. In addition, the strange, new sight had already grabbed the interest of others as they inquisitively, eyeing on the 'mamono' from time to time, analyzing and studying 'her' every movement from a distance.

Yusa had speculated that those people were probably scholars of sort, very rare to see nowadays, or they could be simply commoners, like her, that were curious about her companion. Now she wondered how she will hide her new friend away from the sight of the wary people, no thanks to the captain who threatened to sue her if she will not accept the bargain. She did not know now if it was really worth, being imprison for months or years because of what she had done or being always the center of attraction, but in a very bad way. She asked herself if this some sort of punishment to her for trying to throw the mummy off onboard. But she too, like the rest, was just cautious. She sighed and removed those thoughts and pry about it later.

She approached the gate of her house, opening the locks from behind that bars of it. After that, she told the mummy to follow her so she could direct the mummy where the storage room was for the barrels.

"Come. It's over here." She pointed at the back of her house where there was a single door that was locked. She unlocked it first and allowed the mummy to place the barrels inside.

"Wait!" She said to the mummy while raising her hand, forming a stopping sign.

"Carry this one to my house." She told 'her'. The mummy complied and carried the single rum.

Yusa opened the door, unlike the storage room door, this door closely resembled to a shoji, a sliding door that was made out of frame woods and translucent papers.

Once they were inside, she took the rum and head to the kitchen. While she was busy, the mummy went inside and examined the Blue Oni's house. From the looks of it, the house was pretty much simple; the ceiling was high enough for the mummy to allow itself to stand straight without accidentally bumping its head to the ceiling. The house consisted of kitchen, living room and two closed room which the mummy assumed to be the bathroom and bedroom, though the mummy did not know which was the bathroom or a bedroom. Even if there was a sign, it still useless as the mummy cannot read the native language of this world.

After examining the house for a few minutes, the mummy decided to take a sit, crossing its legs, arms resting on both knees. The mummy was waiting for the owner of the house to return. While the mummy was waiting, it decided to the fiddle with the device that was attached to its chest. The thing was still unresponsive so the mummy presumed that it was still offline. Still, the 'undead' continued, hoping just for a little bit feedback from it.

The Blue Oni had returned after doing some stuff from her kitchen. She was now carrying a glass and a liquid container.

Yusa saw the mummy sitting and fiddling with something that is attached on 'her' chest, an object with a circular shape with an odd symbol in the center of it. It also had a black and gray color on it. She never really paid attention to the mummy back then so she did not noticed the thing on 'her' chest. And so she wondered now what it was and its purpose?

She shook her head called the mummy.

"Hey!" The mummy's gaze turned towards her. The Blue Oni swallowed a lump slightly as the green, glowing eyes look at her, unblinking.

'_I think I will never get used to it.' _She thought.

Yusa sat on the floor with the mummy and poured the rum on her glass. When she was about to drink it, she halted and offered it hesitantly to the mummy.

"Um, do you drink something like this?" She asked.

Albeit the mummy does not understand her, 'she' seemed to get the gist when she offered 'her' a drink. The mummy refused by shaking 'her' head.

"Oh, so you don't drink, I see. Well, looks like I'm going to be alone enjoying myself." She said and drank the glass of rum in one go.

"Ah~ That was a really good rum!" She complimented, appreciating the tasted of it.

The mummy just stared incredulously at her while she was wasting herself through the help of liquor. She drank, one after another in a ridiculous pace. Every round was also full. She was completely forgetting the fact that mummy was still there. All fear and cautiousness seemed to have already drifted completely from her the moment she took a glass of liquor. Her body, especially her blue face, was now flushed in red as she relentlessly continued to drink.

**(An hour later…)**

The blue Oni's body is almost completely beat red from the excessive consumption of rum. Her kimono that she was wearing was barely hanging on her shoulder and the other side was completely down. Chugging another glass, she used her other arm to support herself from completely falling. The poor mummy was just in front of her, watching her pathetically. The mummy quickly grabbed the Oni by her body, preventing her from falling as her arm had given up. The undead carefully took ahold of her body, examining her state. Whilst doing this, the Oni's head perked up and stared at the undead with wide, sly smile. Her hair was partially covering her upper face.

"You know… *Hic* you're not *Hic*half bad at all as I thought *Hic*." She halted and chugged another round again. "I'm kind a *Hic* sorry for what *Hic* did to you *Hic*. Trust me, *Hic* I really am… *Hic*. Just thought undeads like you will just mindlessly attack people *Hic*." Her kimono had almost fallen from her shoulder that will surely expose her breasts. Fortunately for her, the undead pulled it before it happened and fixed it. The undead then pulled the Oni's hair back this time, showing a completely flushed red mamono in contrast to her normal skin color. The undead had seen the poor expression of the drunken Oni. Her eyes were all teary and also red. Suddenly, the Oni had burst out, crying pathetically on the mummy's arms. The mummy on the other hand, was confused at what had just happened. The undead did not do anything to her and yet here she was, crying like a child on 'her' arms. The undead made a sighing expressing as 'she' address the situation. The mummy slowly rested the Oni's body on 'her' other arm and gently caress her hair.

The Oni was still holding the glass; however, there was no content on it. The undead doubted that she can take another shot. Her body gave up already and so the undead tried to remove the glass from her grip and place near the container. The mummy then started to carry her in bridal style and with great haste yet watchful; the mummy scoured the whole house to find the bathroom. Fortunately for the mummy, there were two closed rooms of the house so either of them was probably the bathroom.

The first one was on the left side, the other one is on the right side. The undead went on the right side and open the shoji. A lucky guess for the mummy after opening the shoji, the undead was surprised as how the bathroom was very similar to the eastern culture much like the rest of the stuffs in this land. It was complete with a sink, though the undead did not know if that was really a sink, a wooden bucket of water with a scoop and what the undead presumed to be an old-style bath tub that is made of stones and rocks. The bath tub has water on it already. There were also some kinds of liquid containers and odd rocks in which the undead do not know what they were, but the mummy assumed that they were probably for hygienic purposes.

Now that everything was all set up, the only problem was how 'she' will bath the Oni. Even bathing her with kimono still intact, it was still useless since it was kind of thin and the light color of it just made it worse. Heck, the undead could even see, partially, through her body under the kimono because of how sweaty she was right now. The undead shook its head, trying not to pry on that sensitive matter. 'She' wished that a miracle would happen because there was no way that 'she' will be bathing this drunken mamono. 'Her' wish was answered by a call outside.

The undead quickly think of what 'she' will do first with the Oni. After a minute of having no plan, 'she' simply decided to just put the mamono on the bath tub. The undead adjusted the Oni's body and arms so that she would not slide and fall on the water. When everything was all done, 'she' went outside.

**XXX**

**(Outside of Yusa's house…)**

"Hello! Yusa! Are you there already?! It's me, Arethice!" A half-snake woman, a Lamia also wearing a kimono much like the rest of the inhabitants, had called out.

"Hello! Does anyone in here?!" She called again. When there was still no response from the house, she sighed. "Hey, darling, do you think that she's in the house already?" She asked her husband who was beside her. Unlike her, her husband was wearing a brown shirt with buttons and a plain pants. He shrugged.

"Maybe? I mean the gate is already unlocked." He answered.

Her wife sighed.

"She is probably taking a drink again." She exasperated. "Alright, time to get inside ourselves to put an end to her daily routine… again." She told her husband.

"But Oni like to drink, shouldn't we just let her?"

"They are, but she is drinking more frequently, unlike before, she only drinks often." The Lamia grabbed her temple and groaned. "Let's get in and see if she's fine."

The Lamia opened the gate and went inside of her friend's abode, her husband who was beside her shrugged and followed her behind. When she was just mere inches away from the shoji, it suddenly opened when she was about to reach it with her hand to open it herself. The sight had caught her completely off guard and was taken aback from it, so was her husband who froze behind as he too stared at the… stranger. The Lamia quickly wrapped her husband with her tail and pulled him away. Her eyes narrowed as she made a hissing sound. She looked at the creature from head to toe. There was no mistaken it, from the appearance it had. The creature was an undead mamono, a mummy! Its green, eerie eyes gazed down on her.

"A-a… m-mummy?!" Her husband had stuttered, clearly intimidated at the undead.

"D-Don't… e-ever think of taking my husband if you have the slightest consciousness!" She said venomously. "W-who are you?! Where is the Oni?" She asked or more like she demanded to the undead.

The mummy ignored them and started to walk away. The couple was confused at this and looked at each other before looking back at the mummy, observing the undead. The creature went to the right, more specifically to the bathroom, and opened the shoji. The undead gestured to them to head inside the bathroom. The Lamia hummed and tried to understand what the mummy was trying to imply.

'_Is 'she' asking us to go there?' _She gasped.

Slowly, she slithered towards to the bathroom while dragging her husband closely to her. She was eyeing the mummy from time to time, not giving 'her' a chance to steal her husband away.

"Darling, please don't hold me too tight, I can't breathe properly." Her husband told her. The Lamia listened and loosened her grip a little bit.

The mummy had sensed their fear so it decided to take a few steps back from them. The undead stood at the corner, merely observing them from a great distance. Satisfied at what the mummy did, she went on to check the bathroom.

As expected from her friend, she found her there in the bath tub, snoring. She approach closer and saw some traces of dried tears on her face. As comedic as how her friend's face looked like, she cannot actually feel anything funny on her state right now. She knew how her friend was struggling every day and not having someone for her was really hard, especially when she still had no man for her yet. The Lamia remembered how she will always suggest to her that she needed to find a husband to at least ease her hardships and help her in everyday life. But her friend refused and said that she will rather wait for someone that actually like her rather than forcing herself to man. It was true; no other man had fallen for her friend Oni, oddly. Though her friend had the beauty and quality of being a good wife, she does not know why there was not a single man had already fallen for friend yet.

She sighed.

"If there is at least someone on her side, especially a man, she will not going to be like this." She muttered.

"Uhm, Darling?" Her husband called for her outside the bathroom. She quickly approached him and asked.

"Yes, Darling?"

"I don't really feel comfortable here." The Lamia forgot that the mummy was still here in the house and 'she' was now currently in the corner, watching them.

"You can wait outside, Darling." Her husband hastily departed the house.

She then glared at the mummy.

"Do not attempt to get him. He's mine you know?!" She told the mummy who merely nodded at her.

She went back to the bathroom to take care of her friend and bath her. After that, she went to the other room to get some new clothes from the Oni's closet. She got back after new clothes for the Oni. The Lamia drag friend and forced her to at least sit on a tiny chair. After removing her wet kimono and rubbing her body with a towel, she dressed her with a new, dry one. Once she was done replacing her kimono, she dragged her again and out of the bathroom and place her on the floor which where she limply laid down on her back. The Lamia then folded her arms.

Yusa yawned and shifted her body. She opened her eyes and saw a very familiar face.

"Oh, it's you, Arethice. Where's Leomer?"

"My husband? He's outside right now."

"Oh?" The Oni sheepishly replied.

Arethice rolled an eye. She placed her hands on her hips and spoke.

"Yes, no thanks to your guest. What is a mummy doing in your house, by the way?"

"Well, she was kind of a bargain between me and the captain after I broke some stuff on his ship by trying to throw 'her' off board." She told her absentmindedly.

"Why did you even do that?! You should've just let the others handle that… weird mummy or pharaoh." Arethice eyed at the stranger mamono warily before turning back to Yusa.

"Well, the captain allowed 'her' to his ship. It seemed that 'she' doesn't need any sustenance at all."

"How do you know?" Yusa shrugged.

"The captain said 'she' had been watching me since the night I lost my consciousness after getting a solid punch to the face from 'her'."

"You two had fought out?"

"Also the main reason why I had broken some stuffs, yeah. I'm just trying to save everyone in the ship though." The Oni nonchalantly said.

"Unbelievable, Yusa!" The Lamia exasperated while rubbing her temples.

"Alright, I think I've heard enough. What are you going to do with your newly _acquired acquaintance_ anyways?" The Oni covered her forehead with her arm as she stared at the ceiling, blankly.

"I don't know. The mummy looks fine and far from what had I thought about 'her'. 'She' never seems to attack or needs any semen. 'She' acts like a golem with slight consciousness to 'her' surrounding and would act accordingly to it if provoked."

"That's really… weird, considering that mummies are just pure instinct-based creature, relying only to stimulation and feelings, but doesn't the have much thought about it." The Lamia stated.

"In short, they are dumb." Yusa had summarized from the Lamia's statement. "But that dumbness cannot be applied to that thing." She pointed at the mummy who was still watching them from the corner, unmoving, unflinching.

"When I fought 'her', I noticed that 'she' was not a rusher and more of a fighter. You know, the usual ones that will analyze their opponent rather than charging head first in the battle." She explained to the Lamia. "In addition, 'she' has this odd special ability to manipulate 'her' bandages, a highly unlikely ability for a typical mummy."

"Or for a pharaoh." Arethice added.

"Well, there is also the fact that she is hollow inside."

"What do you mean?" The Lamia asked curiously.

"How can I explain this? Uh, 'she' kind of… uhm… split 'her' body in half and trapped me inside of 'her'." The Oni plainly said, not noticing the disgusted expression of her friend.

"Does it feel slimy or fleshy?" The Lamia questioned.

"Slimy or fleshy? What? I mean 'she' is literally hollow inside!" Yusa clarified. "The mummy is literally just made out of bandages, except for the other things that it has."

"Oh… hehehe." Arethice just chuckled.

"By the way, why is your husband outside of my house right now? Why can't he come in?" Yusa suddenly asked.

"He's outside because of… that." The Lamia pointed at the mamono. "And I told him so. Didn't I just told you earlier?"

"Te-he~"

Anyways, we really need to leave now. We just chose to head here to check on you. But before we leave…" She stopped and took a glance of the mummy. "Is it alright to have 'her' here, in your house?"

Yusa pondered for a moment then shrugged.

"I think." She answered. "Besides, there is no one here except for myself. A new individual would at least lift up this house a little."

"Hmm, to think that you will get along with 'her' even after you just fought 'her' is really bewildering. Are you not wary of her?"

"I'm still wary of the mummy though, regardless. Maybe she is still full yet I do not know. I am going to keep my eyes open on 'her' just in case as much as I don't want to guard 'her' no thanks to that idiot captain." The Oni vexed, still not liking the idea of taking care of a mummy.

"You can go home anyway. I can take care of myself." She told the Lamia.

"Well, if you so. I and my husband will be going out of town for a while so we might not able to see you for a few weeks or more." Yusa was saddened at this.

Arethice was her only true friend out of all of the mamonos that were living in her neighborhood. And the Lamia leaving after she had just arrived was quite hard to accept.

"I am deeply sorry, Yusa." Her friend apologized.

"It's alright, Arethice." The Oni gave her friend an assuring smile.

"Well, we better be off. Bye, Yusa!" Her friend then departed the house after their conversation. She rested her whole body on the floor whilst gazing on the ceiling of her house, emptily. She then turned her attention on the mummy who sat near her.

"Whelp, I guess it'll be just you and me for now."

**XXX**

_To be continued…_


	3. Chapter 3

**_Ben 10 and MGE belong to their rightful owners._**

**_Warning: (Possible) Grammar Issues ahead._**

**XXX**

**(Dusk…)**

The duo, Yusa and Mummy, were busy setting up the house. The blue Oni had gathered some woods from the town and some foods for their dinner and was now preparing in the kitchen. Fortunately, the town had blessed by so much fishes and other sea animals from fishermen who sell them after they went back from fishing. It was also just in time for her when she want to try other foods. The Mummy on the other hand was tasked in cleaning the living room and to prepare the table for well, dinner.

Yusa checked the mamono by peeking behind the wall of the kitchen. The mummy was still there, preparing the table, wiping it with 'her' bandages and cutting it after 'she' was done using it. She hummed in satisfaction and went back to what she was doing.

**(Afternoon…)**

Earlier, after the Oni's ole friend departed from the house, she decided to went back on the kitchen after a minute of lying down on the floor, pondering of many things. One of which was, as expected, how she will take care of the Mummy and manage to avoid 'her' from the prying eyes of both men and mamonos who were wary enough to actually attack 'her' like what she did when they were still on the ship. She shook her head and proceeded to make a tea for herself and for the mummy, though she was not sure if that 'mamono' needed any drink or food at all which was odd.

All living beings need to intake something to stay alive like how humans eat food as a source of supplement and energy for their bodies. For the mamonos however, it varied differently, so very different, depending on the species. The succubus family was the best example of this. Most of them rely solely on human essence, so intercourse needs to be very frequent.

She sighed and continued. She grabbed the empty pot that was lying near the plate storage and filled it with water. Next, she took a container that contained grinded leaves. Yusa had recoiled from the smell not because it was bad, but because it was soothing and really fresh. Like how Mother Nature and her creation should smell, fresh, soothing and relaxing. This made her smile as she take more of its scent.

"Ah~ Nothing beats the smell of nature!" She complimented while nodding.

Yusa hummed as she started pouring some of its content with grinded leaves through the use of a wooden spoon. Through her precision, she began to measure how much grinded leaves she needed to better suit her taste by looking at how the color of water change and also of course, based on the amount it had. She head back to the living room. Near in the middle of the house, there was a part of a floor that is not covered in woods, an Irori to be exact.

She took note of the mummy first that was still fiddling with the odd object on 'her' chest. She was puzzled as to why the mummy takes most of 'her' time meddling with it. Many thoughts came up to her mind, but none of them would really make sense. All she assumed was that the object had a big role on the undead's life. Perhaps something that was much related to 'her' that would explain 'her' condition? What can she tell? This mummy in particular was a peculiar one amongst the 'mamonos' even to its own kind. She cannot talk think much about them so far, as even in her entire life, she had not met a single one. Assumptions were the only thing she could do. The general knowledge that had been passed through stories and books does not help much either. Stories ranging from bizarre to completely vague description did made things worse rather than enlightening ones' mind.

The blue Oni took a deep breath and placed the pot near the irori and set the grills where she would put the pot afterwards. Once she was done setting the grills, she placed pot over it. She glanced at the mummy, who did not pay heed to what she was doing.

Yusa shrugged and went outside and to the back of the house to get some woods at the storage room. She headed inside after getting some. Still after she just entered her house, the mummy did not pay heed to her. The Undead remained there where 'she' previously sat, still fiddling with the object.

The Oni set up the woods under the grills and set it aflame. She then sat a few feet away from the mummy.

"Hey!" Yusa called 'her'. The mummy stopped at what it is doing to stare at here.

"Uhm… Uh… nevermind." She stuttered. The mummy then went to fiddle with the object again.

'_What's really with that thing?' _Yusa thought.

Instead of attempting have a conversation with the mummy, she chose to remain silent and wait for her tea to boil. The house was very quiet, except for the people outside that were constantly chatting, and the sound of fire crackling was the only source of noise inside. The Oni then shifted her position, from sitting in cross legs; she held her legs close her chest and laid her head over her knees. As she did this, she started making inaudible humming noise based from the lullabies of her parents. They would usually sang this lullabies to her when she was either having nightmares or having hard time to sleep back then when she was just child. The memories she reminisced made her smile just for a moment.

'_I wonder where they are now.' _She thought deeply. She looked at the mummy again who disregarded her noises and still continued on what 'she' was doing.

'_This mamono is unbelievable. 'She' been fiddling with the object since after my friend had left us. And… it's been has been an hour since she departed! On the second thought, I wonder if it has an especially connection with the undead. From the looks of the object, it seems so… advance? Surely the craftsman that built it was very adept and brilliant in their art.' _She thought about it.

Yusa did not know that she had been watching that the object for too long. She flinched when the mummy looked at her and pointed at the whistling boiling pot.

"Ah. Right, right!" She removed the pot and placed it away from the grills. When she was done, she went back to the kitchen to get some mugs. She was about to head back after getting the mugs when she remembered that her guest does not drink at all.

'_How could I forgotten about it!?' _She slapped herself mentally. _'Yeah, as far I can recall when I before I became so tipsy, I offered 'her' some sake but she declined.'_

She left the other mug and head to the living room. She went back where she previous sat, just next to the mummy. Without any haste, she went to grab the pot's holder and slowly poured the tea on her mug. She smelled the scent of the first before sipping it slowly.

"Hmm~ nothing can beat Mother Nature." She remarked. "A best way to remove a damn hangover!" She added.

While she was doing this, the mummy tilted its head, watching her drinking her tea.

"What?" Her response when she found out that the mummy was looking at her.

"Hmm…" She hummed while also tapping her head.

"You know, if you can understand me… ah! Just wait here for a moment." She placed the mug down and went near the front door of her house.

She opened a cabinet and took something from inside of it. They were brooms, albeit the first one had a wider, but it had shorter shaft. The size closely resembled to a duster. And the other one was attached to a long wooden rod. She head back and went to the undead this time. She raised the brooms to emphasize them.

"Do you know them, right?" Although her words meant nothing to the mummy, the undead still nod at her. In her satisfaction, she grinned and planned one thing.

"Great! Come then!" The mummy then follows her.

**(Backyard…)**

The Oni examined her backyard; both hands were on her waist. Her backyard was as simple as her house. There was small flower garden, a tree and some stuff for decoration.

"Do you see this?" She pointed at her backyard.

The mummy nodded in response. She took the broom with a long wooden rod and started to sweep the fallen, dried leaves in the backyard.

"Do you know how to do this?" She asked.

The mummy nodded. She then compiled them in a specific area and halted from her sweeping.

"Good. I want you to sweep my backyard." She told the mummy.

"I've been sweeping these things, almost, on a daily basis back then. And since you are under my care, you must also know the living in my house is not free so good luck at cleaning my backyard!" She smiled at the mummy albeit a little a sarcastic.

"Oh, I forgot! The front of the house is also included." She pointed at the direction where the mummy should also clean.

"Of course, the last thing will be my house." She added.

"Before you start just a little reminder, this is for here, outside." She gave prominence to the broom that she was holding again, the one with the wooden rod.

"And that!" She pointed at the broom held by the undead.

"Is for the house!" She denoted. The mummy nodded again.

"Okay, you may start now." She gestured to the mummy and the undead went on to clean the backyard.

Yusa then sat on the wooden floor outside of her house and watch as the undead do what was tasked for 'her'.

"Huh, at least 'she' is useful." The Oni mused.

"Time for me to buy some woods and food ingredients from the town." She said to her.

**(Present…)**

"Dinner is ready!" She yelled as she carried the food that she had cooked in a giant bowl.

Steadily and proficiently, she tried to balance the bowl, not wanting to get a burn from it. She then slowly placed it on the table, not far from the Irori where she cooked the food from. After it, she prepared the small bowls and glasses on the table. She sat next to it, grabbed the chopstick and spoke.

"Thank you for the food!" Before she eats, she smelled the aroma of her food first. "A Seafood Miso always smells good!" She praised the food and starts digging in through her chopstick and spoon for the soup.

The undead stared at Oni, completely jealous because of the fact that she can eat such thing. Unbeknownst to 'her', 'she' began rubbing and stroking 'her' belly area, completely showing how much 'she' wanted to eat right now despite having no hunger at all. Albeit emotionless thanks to 'her' appearance, the Oni had took note of her behavior. She saw how the mummy was rubbing 'her' own stomach. It was a simple gist that she already got. Not sure if the mummy can actually eat, she finished her food inside her mouth before talking. When she was done, she spoke.

"Hey! Do you like this?" She asked while pointing at her food.

Yusa tried to offer it to the undead, but the undead refuse by shaking 'her' head again, implying that it was a no. She frowned at this.

"Really? You haven't eaten a single food since our arrival here. Are you sure that you're okay?" She asked.

The undead only regarded her with blank stare. The Oni exasperated and took a deep breathe.

"Well, it ups to you, buddy…" She returned from she was doing after.

Later after the dinner, Yusa now started setting up her bed in her room once she was done eating. She laid it on the floor together with blankets. She back head back on the cabinet to get her pillows this time. The Oni laid down on her bed comfortably after it.

"Whew, that was a long day." After saying that to herself, she went to check the mummy who was sitting next to the door of her room.

She honestly did not know if it was really alright to let someone, let alone a mummy, stay inside her room whilst she slept. She also wondered if the undead mamono does not sleep at all. Well, asking 'her' was a bit foolish since 'she' will not understand it, possibly. Gestures may work although at to what extent? She still does not know the understanding capability of the mummy. If she were to compare the undead to someone or something, she would probably compare 'her' to a six or seven year old child and an attitude that was similar to that of a golem. Though it was really silly to compare the mummy's attitude to a golem since a golem do not have any attitude at all, or at least that was what she had known so far.

'_Sleep now, think tomorrow.' _She said to herself.

"Goodnight, buddy!" She said to the undead who responded through nodding.

Yusa closed her eyes and went to deep, peaceful sleep.

**(Timeskip…)**

The next morning, Yusa had finally awoken from her deep slumber. She sat up, stretched her arms and legs, and yawned. She fixed her and looked onto the direction where the mummy previously sat. The mummy was not there where she previously expected 'her' to be. Out of panic, she quickly fixed her kimono and tied it tightly and stood up. She stopped when she heard a sound from outside. The sound was very familiar like someone was sweeping.

'_Wait, sweeping?' _Yusa head there and saw the mummy on her backyard, sweeping the leaves that had fallen from the trees.

She felt relief after seeing the mummy.

'_That mummy almost gave a heart attack.'_ She aggravated.

_'This will be interesting.' _She smirked.

**(A few days later…)**

"Ugh, you are really persistent, aren't you?" Yusa had complained to the mummy.

Days had passed since her new guest had started living together with her in the same house. Now the undead seemed to want to come along with her and into the town. The Oni did not expect this; she did not expect the undead to feel bored. At least that was what the expression 'she' is giving right now, truly, a unique mummy. She does not know what to do when the other mamonos will spot 'her'. 'Her' appearance easily stood out amongst the crowds, earning the highlights without putting much effort. If only this place was that of a desert region, the mamonos there would just probably shrug to 'her', but they were not, they were in Zipangu, The Kingdom of Fire, The Kingdom of the Sun. What was more was the judgments of the locals. Fear, a primordial emotion that existed since the beginning of life and up until the end, it will still live on. It's a gift to all who were willing to learn from it and a curse for others. She feared what they might do to 'her' due to 'her' kind's nature that was well-known from the rest of the world. She was actually shocked when she realized that thought of it.

Does she really care about 'her' now? Is she actually getting fond of the undead? Although 'she' was reliable, way too reliable that most of the house chores that were tasked to her, well she was living alone so she better move on her own, were all being held by the mummy the right now, except for cooking.

"Just wait, okay? Let me think this ahead." She told the mummy, arms folded while her other hand was rubbing her chin.

The undead waited for her answer.

"Okay, fine. You can come along with me, but you will carry the stuffs that I will buy, got it?" The undead nodded.

'_Hope for the best to us.' _She muttered silently.

"Alright, let's get going." She told the mummy.

**(The Town…)**

The town was not that big, but enough to supply most of the inhabitants' need like clothes, foods, equipment and even weapons. Yusa did not bother about those things and head straightly to address her own needs, mainly foods and other things. She was currently finding silks so that she can make some clothes on her own, only to find out that no one seemed to be selling them this time. She exasperated at this. Albeit the town was complete with their needs, in does not mean its abundant when people were starting to buy them in bundles. This was the opposite for the logs however. There were lots of them this time.

"Since the stores around here do not sell silks anymore, we might as well head to the center where the market place is located and hope that they still have enough supply for us." She told to the mummy who was walking beside her.

The undead nodded and continued to follow while carrying two logs and having a sight viewing. Unbeknownst to them however, they were currently being watched by the locals, murmuring about the undead mamono whilst backing away from 'her'.

"The fuck? What's a mummy doing here?"

"I don't know, but 'she' better not stole my husband away." A Red Oni snarled pulling her husband behind her.

"Yeah, 'she' better not act stupidly." Another Red Oni agreed.

"Calm down, guys. The mummy is not attacking, right? So better not mind 'her'." A young lad tried to reason.

"I disagree." A woman countered whilst licking her paws. She had cat ears, two tails and like her hands, her feet were also paws. She was a werecat, a Nekomata, a mamono that only inhabited the Zipangu region.

"You clearly have no idea what 'she' is capable of, handsome boy." She teased.

"Do-don't ca-call me that!" The boy's face flared up in embarrassment.

"Fufu, fine. I might as well follow 'her' just to be sure that she doesn't do anything that could harm both men and women in this town." Due the nature and high magical power of their kind, the Nekomata was able to transform herself into a cat.

"Make haste, Suzako." The boy flinched when a voice suddenly came behind him.

He looked to his back and saw a woman wearing what seemed to be a revealing kimono that was color in black and purple. Her face was obscured by her bangs and mask.

"Go, get out of here, boy." She told him. The boy obeyed and walks away. Her stare then diverted to the other group.

"You are also included." She told them

"Right!" The other group said in unison out of fear and quickly left.

"Why need to be so harsh, Kohana?" The Nekomata asked playfully.

"I am just fulfilling my duty as a Kunoichi. Eliminating threats is my main task and now I have one." The Kunoichi narrowed her eyes at the sight of the undead.

"Heh, this better be worth of my time." Another voiced had said.

It was another Red Oni with a short hair that barely reaching her shoulders, she was clad in armor and carrying a giant club on her shoulder.

"Pleased to see you, Akko." The Nekomata greeted.

"Pleased to see you too, Suzako." She greeted back.

"Hope our friend here will not disappoint me." She grinned at the sight of the mummy.

"Enough of this conversation already. Follow 'her', Suzako. Do not lose your sight on 'her', do you understand?" The Nekomata nodded at leaped into the roof of a house.

Kunoichi watched her go before turning her attention to the Red Oni.

"Are their here, Akko?" She asked firmly, voice muffled by her face mask.

"Yes, they are here." The Red Oni pointed at the three mamono behind her, they were Kamaitachi, beastmen that also inhabited Zipangu.

They were known to move at blindingly fast speeds and appear along with was a whirlwind as they had the ability to generate a powerful wind with sickles made from hardened parts of the fur covering their arms. The three bowed to the Kunoichi.

"We are here to serve you, Kohana-san." The three said in unison.

Kohana, a well-skilled Kunoichi examined them before nodding. During her duty, she particularly worked alone, however this one was very different as she was tasked in disposing of someone, a task that she frowned upon as she despised killing. Unlike most of the Kunoichi who were working as an assassin, though most of the Kunoichi now use seductive techniques to persuade and convince their victims into joining their cause, a cause that were related depending to the Lords or Nobles that they were serving with. She prefered to work as reconnaissance, gathering information was also part of their duty and one of their crucial part of it in which she excelled the most.

Kohana furrowed sternly as she recalled all the information she had received from the locals. It all started when a few of the people within the town had reported a sighting of a mummy in their town. Though at first they find it ridiculous as they were no records of such incident until one actually appeared. It was really absurd, but it was also quite intriguing as to why a report about a sighting of a mummy would appear seemed out of nowhere.

And so, the Higher-ups had tasked her to prove such sighting and put an end to this problem. She thought it was going to be easy, but that thought was wrong. For the past few days, she had a hard time finding a lead. Although there were some mamonos and humans had spotted the mummy and said that it came from the port, there was no other further information after that, besides that it was following a certain mamono, a blue Oni to be exact. Other than that, she could not narrow it down even further as the town's inhabitants were mostly consisted of blue and red Oni. Now that they had finally found the said mummy, it was time to put an end to the fear of the locals. Now she wondered what they will do once they got 'her'. Kohana do not want to dispose the mummy as she really despised it, even the slightest idea of killing.

'_Even if 'she' is an undead, I still cannot act cruel to 'her' as she is like the rest of us, a living being before a curse has befallen upon her body. And killing 'her' is like desecrating a body of a dead person.' _She thought.

"Hide through the crowd, Akko. Whatever 'she' does, try to subdue 'her' no matter what even if 'she' resist with great force. I do not want any bloodshed." She told the Red Oni.

"Ah, so you are opposing the order of the Lord of this land, Kohana?" The Oni mused.

"Well, do you have a problem about it?" The Kunoichi scowled, eyes narrowed.

"Relax; we're in the same boat here." She mused to her.

"Like you, I am done with bloodsheds already. I have seen so much during the war with the Order." She frowned.

Kohana breathed in relief and spoke.

"Very well. Just do not go overboard."

"Aye!" The Oni then smiled and gave her a playful salute.

"We must leave. You three, follow me." The Kunoichi and three Kamaitachi then leaped together on the roof of a house to stealthily follow their target.

**XXX**

**(Back with the duo…)**

'_Ugh, I knew this is a bad idea.' _Yusa mentally slapped herself.

She had finally realized the real consequence of her action. She hated how the locals treat them like they were tyrants or warlords because of her… friend. Both mamonos and humans were trying to avoid them and seemed to make a way for them. While humans do avoid more, the mamonos were the exact opposite. They were fiercer and willing to attack anytime should the mummy make a wrong move.

As the Oni expected, they were a plenty of them here, the mamonos, in the center of the market place. The mummy had also noticed this and stared at them. This made them flinch, almost provoking them to attack. Yusa tugged the mummy's bandage to get 'her' attention.

"Hey, buddy. It seems that we had gathered the attentions of the crowd. We must hurry before they do something on us." The mummy nodded.

That was irresponsible of her to bring the mummy along with her. But she cannot deny it; the mummy was useful in terms of carrying different stuffs. Through the use of 'her' strong bandages, 'she' was now carrying not only the logs but also the food that she had brought along at the same time.

"That thing shouldn't be here, it doesn't belong here our town!" Someone yelled.

"Yeah! Beware of that creature; it might take your husbands' away from you." A mamono also yelled.

"Not only them, but also the female humans!" Someone added.

Yusa tried to raised her head a bit look to onto the expression of the locals and yes, as expected, they were both afraid, confuse and angry. However, what she did not expect were the attentions of the locals that were solely concentrated to the undead, not including her. Quickly she walked faster and the mummy did the same thing.

"Look, I think that shop still has silks. Come on before we ran out of materials!" She told to the mummy.

When they reached the store, the owner stopped from what she was doing to address her customer. The owner was also a mamono. She had spider limbs as a leg; she was a Jorougumo, just like what Yusa had seen in the past, who snarled at her friend.

"Hello there, what can I do for…" She paused when she noticed that the Blue Oni in front of her had someone behind, a pair of green, glowing eyes gazing right to hers. What was more was its overall appearance that does not fit well into their place. The Jorougumo shifted her eyes back to the Oni and asked her.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but who is that behind you?" She spoke calmly.

"Um, you see 'she' is a mummy." Yusa answered her.

"I know what 'she' is. What I want to know is who the person under those bandages." The owner asked more firmly to her.

"I-I don't know. 'She' was found by the sea folks and gave her to us when we were sailing. Then the Captain of the ship had allowed 'her' to board after the Sea Bishop had explained 'her' situation to us. After that, the Captain decided that I am going to be 'her' caretaker." Yusa explained, but leaving the fighting side of her story out.

The arachne-like mamono furrowed her brow as she was suspicious about the story of the Oni. She spoke again.

"Then why accept 'her'? Clearly, you can just deny the responsibility."

"Well… I kind of have a debt towards the Captain so I cannot refuse!" Yusa countered.

The Jorougumo hummed for a second before sighing.

"Alright, I think that was enough." She told the Oni. "Please, pick whatever silk you required in my store, but make it fast, got it?"

"Got it!" The Oni then went to pick some silks in the store.

**(Half an hour later…)**

The duo was now leaving the market place and away from the town's inhabitants many prying eyes. Yusa was finally relieved at this though not fully as there were some people still along the road, observing them from head to toe, watching their every movement. The Oni looked behind and saw the mummy with tons of things onto 'her' though the undead seemed to not mind them at all.

'_I guess it was worth it after all.' _She told herself.

_'Besides, if the people will see 'her' in daily basis, they will probably lighten up a bit and will treat her like a normal mamono.' _She think positively.

The Oni then continued to her path, back towards her abode.

Unaware, she was currently being stalked by a cat, leaping from roof to roof to avoid any suspicion. In addition, that cat was not alone. The little creature was also being followed by other four mamonos. She used her tail as a sign if they needed to move or hide. Being the first look, she used her gesturing skill well proficiently to avoid being detected by their target.

"Meow~" The cat purred after seeing the sight of the mummy.

Suddenly while watching the blue Oni and mummy walking along, a particular red Oni had showed up from the alleyway. The two the stopped in their tracks when they saw the red Oni clad in armor while also carrying a club.

"Greetings, strangers!" The Red Oni greeted them.

Yusa remained silent.

"What? Is it not right to greet you? As far as I know, you should also greet too as a sign of respect, no?" The blue Oni scoffed.

"What do you want?" The she asked.

"Whew, way too straightforward aren't we?" The red Oni jested. "Alright then, let us make this simpler. You see, we have been hearing reports of a certain sighting of a mummy here in this town. The thought of a mummy being here is kind of funny."

She chuckled before adopting a serious face.

"That and there is also an intriguing nature of it. Just so you know, we have not received such report in the past up until some individuals came to us. And here we are, to check if it was true, well… it turns out that it was really true after all. In addition, they said that this mummy has also the appearance of Pharaoh which is a check also, according to that and what I am seeing right now." She told her.

"And damn, never thought 'she' was this tall." She remarked.

"So what? Are you going to kill 'her'?" Yusa suspected.

"Kill 'her'? No… I and my friends will just detain 'her'." She clarified.

"So relax we are not going to do anything to your friend there." Yusa raised a brow at her, not completely believing her.

"What if 'she' resist?"

"Trust me, 'she' better not to." The red Oni told her. "For me, 'she' seems docile."

"Well, 'she' does not need any sustenance at all that is why 'she' is docile most of time. Even after we had arrived back, she never demanded nor looked up for foods." The Red Oni did not buy this.

"Impossible, there no such being could exist without consuming any sustenance. But if what you say is true, then we would like to take her to prove your statements." From above, four mamonos suddenly appeared, surrounding them.

The Blue Oni identified the three as Kamaitachi and the other one as a Kunoichi. The said Kunoichi landed beside the Red Oni.

"Hello there, my friend. I am Ebino Kohana." The Kunoichi introduced herself.

"I can already see where this is going." The Blue Oni berated.

"I am Kogane Yusa, and nice to meet you." She said sarcastically.

The Kunoichi approached her slowly not trying to provoke any fight.

"You must understand that the mummy-" She pointed at the undead. "Is an aberration amongst us."

"The undead is an abnormal mamono, yeah? It is obvious already. 'Her' height and appearance says it all. She is even not partaking with my daily meals. Other than that, she seems to be sentient." Yusa scoffed at the Kunoichi.

"Hmm… So you do not feel it?" The Kunoichi asked her.

"Feel what?" Asked Yusa.

"The exotic mana the undead has. It feels really different from the rest." The Kunoichi told her. "I can sense its peculiarity very well."

"Huh, sharp as ever, Kohana." The Kunoichi did not reply to the Red Oni's remark to her.

"So we request 'her' to come with us." The Kunoichi begged trying to be not as hostile as possible.

Yusa was defiant and strong-willed Oni, but against a Kunoichi, a Red Oni and Kamaitachi? Her strength can be easily outmatched by them. She looked at the mummy who also looked back at her. The undead seemed to get what she was implying and dropped the logs and supplies that they had bought on the ground. The undead then stared back at her again.

"It's alright, buddy. I can carry them or just rent a cart from here." She told the undead.

"But you know, even if we just had met few days ago, you kind a become part my life for a short amount of time." The Oni said sincerely and smiled. "You can go now with them, do not cause problem, okay?"

'_Okay…' _Yusa was shocked when the mummy spoke to her. The voice was indeed different according to the Sea Bishop. 'Her' voice does not sound so feminine however.

"So you can speak after all." The mummy did not respond at this. 'She' simply head straight to the Kunoichi and Red Oni when suddenly…

The mummy's bandages came to life and started to move on their own. The Kunoichi, Red Oni and Kamaitachi all tensed up even Yusa was surprised.

"What are you doing?" She asked the mummy.

"Your friend here seems to be not a cooperative individual." The Red Oni narrowed her eyes.

The Kunoichi had sensed danger and her instinct is telling her to evade. She followed it and pulled the Red Oni along with her. She then saw how the mummy used 'her' abnormally, long arm as a whip. Kohana saw what mummy did after. The undead struck the Blue Oni away with great force that threw her back. She was surprised at this.

"You bastard!" The Red Oni cursed as she also saw what the mummy did to the Blue Oni.

"She was your friend! Why did you do that?!" She screamed at her and while demanding to know why the undead did what 'she' did. Her question was answered when a hail of tiny knives come pouring down at the mummy, stabbing and piercing 'her' body.

"What the fuck?!" The Red Oni could only utter. Even the Nekomata who play as a role of a lookout was not expecting this. The Kunoichi on the other hand examined the knives. The knives had strong resemblance to those she had right now.

'_Those are Kunais. There is no mistaking it, but who is the perpetrator?' _She wondered.

"What is this, Kohana? You are opposing the Lord's order?" A voice said. The Kunoichi darted her sight towards the direction of the voice and saw another Kunoichi, she was wearing the same cloth as hers, but the kimono she was wearing was colored red and black a better match for the owner.

"Tatsuno Akui…" Kohana said venomously.

"Surprised to see me?" Akui giggled maliciously.

"I should have known that you will follow me. Do not intervene with this matter for we have properly settled it." Kohona told said to Akui.

"The Lord's order is absolute!" Akui countered.

"Then we shall settle this in combat!" Kohona unsheathed her katana and charged at her.

"Damn, they are getting into it." The Red Oni muttered and look unto the direction of the mummy.

The undead was partially pinned down on the ground. The Red Oni then sprinted towards the mummy. However, when she was about to help the mummy she stopped as she heard the tearing of bandages. She watched as the mummy rose from its previous cripple state. Akko observed how the strange mamono tear 'herself' apart forcefully.

"By the Gods, are you alright?" The Blue Oni screamed after she had recovered.

The mummy ignored her and continued to tear the bandages. Removing a Kunai that was embedded to 'her' easy, but removing large amount of them would be a waste of time.

When Yusa was about to reach her friend, she felt something that had latched around her legs. She fell over before she realized what it was.

"Ow!" She uttered in pain.

The Blue Oni tried to stand, but she was unable to do so when she was pinned to the ground by an unknown sticky substance. Unable to break free, she decided look at her body to know was hindering her from moving.

'_Web? Great!' _She irked.

"Nah uh, my dear. You should stay away from this." Yusa diverted her attention and to the voice.

'_Ugh, why bother thinking. Of course it was another damn Jorougumo!'_ She mentally hit herself.

Unlike the rest of normal Jorougumo that were living within this town, Yusa noticed how partially armored and armed the arachne-like mamono was.

"I will beat your ass after I get out of here! I swear!" The Jorougumo chuckled in delight.

"I would like to see you try." She told her and went to the mummy with a plan of restraining it with her threads.

She was bemused when the Red Oni confronted her, but her bemusement did not last long as her formed a cheshired-like smile.

"What is this? A brave Red Oni saving a damsel in distress, how foolish of you to face me."

"You think so? I will make you kiss the ground after I defeat you." Akko threatened her.

"Empty promises…" The Arachne-like mamono shrugged nonchalantly. The two then began their battle with the Oni charging first at the Jorougumo. The Arachne-like mamono used her great reflex to avoid the brute's attack.

Yusa was fuming about her situation. She was irritated because of the fact that she cannot do anything. All of her body was crippled except, she realized despite her futility in her current situation, her mouth was not covered. There was still one thing that she can do at least.

"Run! Go! Run away from here!" She screamed.

The mummy looked at her and instead of escaping, the undead run right towards her.

"No! I said run! Escape while you have the chance!" She screamed at her again.

Out of a sudden, a strong gust of wind came upon her and towards the mummy. The undead then utilized its ability and shot 'her' bandages downward, piercing the ground, making an artificial hook to hold 'her' body from being flung away by the strong wind. The mummy struggled so 'she' shot more bandages to the ground to gain more grip. However, this did not last as 'her' bandages that were connected to 'her' fingers were cut down all of a sudden. But the undead was stubborn and shot another bandages.

Kohona felt the strong breeze too. She leaped away from battle for a moment to see the undead being flung into the air and blitzed by unseen force. The Kunoichi recognized this kind of power instantly.

"The Kamaitachi…" She said beneath her mask. The Kunoichi quickly raised her katana to block the oncoming assault from the other Kunoichi, Akui.

"Eyes on me!" Akui told her.

"Those three, are they also ordered by the Lord, personally?" Kohana tried to ask despite being in the middle of a battle.

Akui then beamed underneath her mask. "Would you believe if that is also the case?"

"Hmph, I already expected it." Kohana then kicked the tight of the dark-themed Kunoichi and send her skidding back. Akui recoiled herself.

"So, why are you surprised?"

"I am not… I just did not expect that Shigo, Hino and Kuni would to hide it from me." Kohana answered.

"Oh my, are you worried about them? If I were you, you should be more worried to the mummy." Akui grinned at her.

Kohana's eyes widened from her words.

**(Back with the mummy…)**

The undead was slammed back on the ground. 'She' looked at the onlookers from afar that were watching their battle from a great distance before turning her attention back to the three mamonos, the Kamaitachi. The mummy readied 'herself' when suddenly 'she' heard a familiar sound.

**Omnitrix Recalibration: Completed…**

**Processing Functionality: Standby…**

The mummy could not hide 'her' joy after hearing it. The undead then shifted its attention to the trio who were in a state of confusion as they saw the object in its chest, blinking yellow; they also had heard it spoke, probably. The mummy did not give them any chance. Before they could return from their trance, the undead shot its bandages forward, using it like a whip again. The three was caught off guard from the mummy's attack. And before the trio could recover from the sudden strike, the mummy quickly shot its other arm again and pulled the one with the sharpest sickle-like weapon that was attached to her arms. When the mummy finally got her, the undead smashed her face on the ground twice and threw her nearby an abandoned house.

One down, two to go. The mummy took note of something from their demeanor a while ago. They were strong, eager and fierce. But after taking the other one, their confident seemed to dwindle for whatever reason. It does not matter at all. If this will make sure that 'she' will stood against them, then 'she' will better use it as advantage to 'her' side.

"You three have taken your parts. Now it is time to take **_MINE!_**" The mummy ceased after a new voice appeared… again.

The voice was completely different as it sounds so… ghastly, terrifying beyond the mummy could ever anticipated. The sensation was very familiar, however. The mummy knew it because 'she' had faced such a foe with the same degree of fear that it can inflict to others by mere speaking much like this another new adversary that had come to join their conflict. The mummy slowly turned its head and at sight of a woman. The mummy knew that this was no mere woman at all.

She had a dark-purplish skin and a dark hair. Her eyes were eerily yellow and her facade was so calm yet terrifying. She wore what seemed to be a samurai armor but without the chest part. What was interesting was that the other part of the woman's armor, the right arm to be exact, was covered by overlapping twisted bone-like materials with spikes protruding over it. She also wore what looked to be a giant demonic skull, covering her frontal crotch area. Two ethereal-like energies can be seen coming out from one of the holes of her right arm and eye socket of her demonic skull. The woman was also carrying a sword, sheathed on the scabbard held by her left hand.

"A…An Ochimusha!" One of the Kamaitachi stuttered, looking at the figure with great amazement and fear.

The mamono kept on walking, drawing her sword out as she did. Her yellow eyes glint dangerously. She halted from walking and pointed the sword right at the sight of the mummy.

"Prepare to feel **_DESPAIR!_**"

**XXX**

_To be continued…_


	4. Chapter 4

**_Ben 10 and MGE belong to their rightful owners._**

**_Warning: (Possible) Grammar Issues ahead._**

**_XXX_**

**_(With the Mummy and the Ochimusha…)_**

The Ochimusha held her katana firmly in her hand. She stood right before the strange mamono which she identified as a mummy. To hear it from the reports was quite absurd already, but to actually see it personally, it was insane. In her entire life, she had fought many battles; most of which was correlated against the Order and its followers. The zealots and their reckless attempt of conquering those mamono friendly towns and villages, even their own home, was plagued by these followers. Warriors who vowed to the Order and its Chief God's wish, the complete eradication of all mamonos, in another word, genocide. She had seen all the horrible acts they would make once they had conquered a place that is filled mamonos.

The sins that they had committed were unforgivable! She wished that they will all burn and suffer from their atrocities. Men, Women and Children, all which were related to their kind, were punished unequally. Some may have survived by surrendering, but only humans can be saved from it, but them? She would not hope for it. As long as the Order stood, they will still hold their banners firmly and will march for war, all in the name of the ridiculous idea of 'Human salvation and the purging of all evils' that was their kind, the mamonos.

The Ochimusha's glared deepened as she gripped the handle of her sword more tightly.

The fire of the battle started to increase within despite in her current stoic form.

"You are an anomaly." She told the tall mummy.

Her ghastly voice seemed to make the mamono flinch a little bit, much to her satisfaction.

She held her Katana with two hands and took a fighting stance. She needed only a few seconds to examine her opponent. She leaned forward and with great speed, she zoomed towards her target without any hesitation in attempt of slashing the anomaly, her calm, cold face unchanging. The mummy extended 'her' arm and shot it towards the rushing… undead samurai, at least that was what 'she' can call her from 'her' perspective. Another bizarre being that wanted to take 'her' down.

The Oshimucha avoided the oncoming attack from the mummy by spinning her body so that she would not lose her balance. By the help of the momentum that she had gathered by spinning, she sliced the arm of the mummy effortlessly. The mummy went to attack again, this time using 'her' fingers to try and overwhelm the undead samurai. But much into 'her' dismay, with great speed, skill and efficiency of 'her' enemy, the undead samurai managed to cut them all simultaneously in a blink of an eye. At this rate, the alarming mummy could not do anything but to bend both of 'her' knees. When the undead samurai was about to slash 'her' vertically, the mummy leaped up and dodged the slash that was meant to cut 'her' in half.

Wasting no time, 'she' shot 'her' right hand back on the ground and curled 'her' left hand into a fist. By doing this, 'she' was able to gain a great speed and great speed mean more force. However, 'her' tactic did not go as 'she' expected. The Ochimusha had predicted the mummy's plan and quickly took a forward roll. A sudden heavy crashing sound was heard and along with it was the burst of shockwave, causing a small cloud of dust to form. The Undead samurai covered her eyes with her arms against the dirt that went flying everywhere. Abruptly, eight bandages emerged from the cloud of dust and advanced at her with great speed. Knowing that trying to do sidestepping against the… bandages will not make in time even rolling or leaping, with her great reflex and flexibility, she split her legs and bent her body forward to avoid all of them. She wanted to cut them, however before she could do that, the bandages were already gone.

'_How fast can this mamono pull 'her' bandages back?'_ She wondered.

She stood up just as the dust had finally settled. The Ochimusha observed her opponent again; however something had caught her attention. Beneath the mummy, there was a part of ground that had caved in and some small cracks were formed around it. Much to her realization, she grimaced after seeing it. It was a clear indication of the mummy's strength.

'_It seems that I have not overlooked about it. This mamono is very dangerous, but I must test 'her' more.' _She spoke inwardly.

She gripped her katana in reverse, leaned her body forward and went for a charge. The mummy did not intend to dodge her attack, instead 'she' extend 'her' right arm. 'She' spun 'her' body and swung 'her' right arm horizontally. The Ochimusha quickly dove and rolled forward to avoid it. The mummy then quickly use 'her' other arm, aiming lower this time. The undead Samurai quickly recovered leaped to dodge such attack. This tactic of slowing down the relentless undead samurai only last for few seconds. Now the Ochimusha had finally gained the upper hand, by running through the arm of the mummy, she was able to get near the anomaly, her sword still in reverse grip. With the intention of cutting the head of the anomaly, she twirled her body swiftly, to gain a more force. However, the mummy, into her surprise, twisted its neck then its body backward in an impossible degree, like it does not have any bones at all.

The mummy quickly struck the undead samurai by head-butting her. This caused the samurai to be thrown away. Her body rolled for a moment and abruptly stopping after. Staggering, she tried to stand, mustering herself back from the dizziness of being struck in the head. She grabbed her head from the pain whilst using her katana as a cane to support her keep her body from falling to the ground. The Ochimushi stared at the mummy from a distant and the mummy stared right back at her, not using the opportunity to finish her. Intransigent and adamant, she shook her head to take out the daze. She wielded her katana firmly, both hands, facing her opponent fearlessly. After seeing that she had finally recovered, the mummy decided to charge. Then the trading of blows began, with the mummy relying more on distance and evasive strategy. This was the opposite for the Ochimusha, however. She was more into speed and close-range combat. Despite her speed, the mummy's tactic, no matter how cowardly it was, was very effective in slowing her down by disrupting her every advance through a series of attack.

**XXX**

The two Kamaitachi watched as how the Oshimucha, a well-skilled warrior, struggled in fighting the mummy. At first, they thought it will just take three of them to take down the abnormal mamono, but this was proven wrong when the actual battle set in. At the start, they had the advantage and easily dominated the anomaly. However when that… thing spoke, lifelessly, they had let their guard down momentarily, a big mistake for their part. They were left enthralled at that moment there.

Now that the other one was down that was in charge of offensive role, their confident waned. And now reality had hit them back. The anomaly had a strength that could possibly match a Minotaur or an Ogre? They were not sure if the thing had the strength of an Ogre as it seemed to never show its full potential yet. For whatever reason, the mummy seemed to be holding back. They were somewhat, intrigue by its attitude. The undead had the chance to kill their companion, but it instead threw her away.

"Shigo, Kuni!" They were called.

"Aid me in defeating this monstrosity!" The Ochimusha commanded.

The two nodded at the undead samurai.

"Stay here, Kuni." The other Kamaitachi told her companion.

"But I want to help, Shigo!" The other tried to reason.

"Kuni, listen. There is not much you can do. Hino and I are the ones that are capable of fighting, you are… different from us. So just stay away from the mummy as much as possible and get behind me, okay?" Shigo explained.

"Shigo, Kuni!" The undead samurai called, struggling to hold the mummy.

"Okay…" Shigo then went to aid their companion.

She observed the fight first, and from what she can conclude, the anomaly was good in combat than they already expected. Although the fighting style was very… different, considering that the abnormal being utilized its bandages rather than relying on close combat, this made the anomaly more unpredictable. The oddity of its body, the strange sensation and mana it had, was all out of the ordinary. If there was a word that could describe that mummy in overall, otherworldly was the best word she can come up with, as this being was very vague. It had the appearance of a mummy, but does not had the characteristic of one. It had the appearance of pharaoh, but does not also had the characteristic of one either. Whatever malevolent force that strived within this… shell, must be stopped.

Stacking up the magic she had, she activated it, unleashing a powerful gust of wind against the mummy. Like the wave of ocean, she sent it down at the mummy who was busy dealing her companion. The Kamaitachi, Shigo was glad that the mummy prefered to have a distance between it and the Ochimusha. The mummy's attention was not on her, good. She watched as the mummy get slammed instantly on the ground by the great force of wind. She smirked seeing how the anomaly that hurt her companion struggled to move from where it was.

The Ochimusha halted her assault, trying to not get caught by the wind casted by the Kamaitachi. She brandished her katana and observed the phenomenon that was currently transpiring before her eyes. Their dire circumstances had change from the previous one. In spite of the skills she possessed, it was still was not enough to put down the mummy on her own. Though the mummy was strong, its body was weak and light. That was why the wind pinned it down effortlessly. Furthermore, her katana can easily cut through its bandages in which was an advantage for her part. After this incident, she reminded herself to train more so that she will be prepared to face such foe again in the future. For now, she shall focus on this mummy and ending the threat.

She raised her katana up and gazed on the Kamaitachi. She and her companion get what each other's message just by mere gazing. They both nodded and readied themselves. The mummy helplessly trying to stand using all the strength it had, but it was no avail. The only thing it could do was to move its head by twisting it from left to right. The mummy twist its head and onto the direction of the undead samurai. It gloomed under the grasp of the two being that was facing it. Without further thinking, the mummy spread out all the bandages and let it slither towards the undead samurai at a great speed.

The Ochimusha was caught by the tendrils of bandages and quickly lose her balance when the mummy pulled her by the legs. Now she too was caught in the trap, unable to move from the wind that was pushing her down to the ground. The Kamaitachi watched in horror as her companion was snatched by the anomaly. Before she was completely seized by the mummy, Shigo ceased her wind, fearing that the anomaly would kill her once it got its hands on her companion. Both quickly recovered from this. The Ochimusha swiftly sliced the bandages that entangled her and leaped away from the sight of the mummy. But the mummy did not give her a chance to escape as multiple bandages had been launched from all directions.

Shigo saw this and quickly unleashed her wind, skyward, flinging that two upward. The undead samurai used this chance and pulled herself and towards the mummy. With great body maneuver, she managed to get close to the mummy, sword ready. The mamono samurai saw an opening as she saw the mummy being occupied by the wind; she held her sword with both hand and stabbed the mummy right in the neck. She thought it was done for a few second until the mummy's eyes gazed on hers. Her eyes went wide a little bit as this. The mummy went to grab her but she saw this and quickly cut the anomaly's arms.

Using its body, she propelled herself away to escape. When she was finally far from the possible latches of the anomaly, the gust of wind change its direction again. It sent the mummy hurling downward and into an empty house, crashing into it. Half part of the house had collapsed after the impact. Smoke and dust erupted along with it of course beclouding the area surrounding it.

That would at least give them some time to prepare again.

The Ochimusha examined her sword only to found out that there was no stain of blood in it. She doubted that she missed. She swore that she had successfully stabbed its neck. There was one thing that she was sure though. That anomaly must be eliminated as soon as possible.

"Shigo, Kuni!" The Undead Samurai decided called the two.

"Yes?!" Both replied in unison.

"Get Hino away. And Shigo, don't go any further, I might need your assistance again." She told them.

"Hai!" The two obeyed her and drag the unconscious Kamaitachi away while Shigo did what the Ochimusha had told her.

"You ruthless bastards!" A voice screamed.

The two mamono shifted their attention and found the source of the voice. It belonged to the Blue Oni that was remaining pinned down on the ground, not far away from where they had fought. The Ochimusha and the Kamaitachi observed her pathetic attempts in breaking free from the webs that crippled her.

"How dare you harm my friend?! 'She' hasn't done anything and here you are, trying to kill her! Why? Just why?! Please… I beg you, don't kill her." She pleaded to them.

"I am afraid that I cannot do that…" The Ochimusha told her coldly. "We were given the order to perform an execution if we found something… harrowing. Your so-called friend is one so I have decided already the moment I lay my eyes on her."

"Hey~ Look at what I got here." The Dark-Themed Kunoichi said to them.

She dropped the now bound in rope Kunoichi, Kohana.

"There is another~" The Jorougumo also dropped the Red Oni that was tied with her web.

"Ouch, hey watch it, you spider!" Akko screamed at her.

"The Lord would like to have some words from you two for disobeying such order after this incident." The Ochimusha told them.

"I am ready to face such punishment." The Kunoichi told her.

"Same with Kohana, I'm also ready to face such punishment." The Oni also answered.

The undead samurai spoke.

"Punishment? You are so pessimistic, worry not of that matter as I am sure your past deeds are worth noting, especially you, Kohana and fortunately none of the civilians are harmed, except with this one who is associated to the anomaly…" She pointed at Blue Oni.

"For now, bind them together, Aisa." The Jorougumo nodded and followed her command.

After binding them, they placed the two near the blue Oni and went on their companion to face their enemy that was waiting. The four formed a semi-circle to surround the house. Cautiously, they step forward, little by little and every step they take, the more they become worried for an imminent attack. They paused from moving forward and waited. When the cloud of dust had finally settled, they saw the ruins they had brought. The debris were compiled in such a messy manner, making it hard to identify if the being was still alive or not.

**XXX**

Minutes had passed already yet still nothing happened. The mummy did not emerge from the wreckage. The Oshimucha held her position sternly. As a warrior molded by battles, her patience was undoubtedly astonishing. However, not all of them were as patient as her. The Jorougumo in particular was growing bored already.

"It's not showing up." She spoke.

"Maybe it's dead?" Said the Kunoichi.

"No… the thing is not dead. I can still sense…" The undead samurai stopped from her sentence when she suddenly felt a chill out of nowhere.

'_What is this sensation?'_ She wondered.

Her eyes focused on the wreckage, unblinking.

"You know, maybe I should check it." The Jorougumo suggested.

"That-" The Kunoichi pursed her lips. "Is a very bad idea."

"What if you get caught by it?"

"Can you not be so worried, Akui. I got this." The Spider assured and cheered up.

"I think you should be really careful." The Kamaitachi expressed a very worried face.

"Indeed, if that thing can survive a hail of Kunai that penetrated its body, then we should be more cautious in dealing with this threat." The Ochimucha spoke monotonously; eyes still focus on the subject.

"Alright, I'll be careful now, I got it." Aisa smirked, never knowing what her overweening can result.

The Jorougomu went on the wreckage to check on the current status of their target whether if it's alive or not. Using her spindly legs, she walked smoothly by the shambled woods, her weapons, two short blades in both hands, ready just in case something will emerge. Halting for moment as she suddenly felt a vibration, she peaked by the gaps of the wreckage. To her disappointment, she cannot see anything, only woods that were compiled with each other. She scurried through the rubble and only found nothing but woods and… woods.

She did this for a few minute until she finally found a hole between the gaps where she can peek through. However, the hole was too small and too dim. Sheathing her left dagger, she proceeded to dig a little after. When she was digging, she peeked through it. Her eyes widened at what she saw, causing her to quickly scurry away in an instant and back to her group.

The group tensed at her sudden panicking. For them she looked so frightened, meaning there was an imminent danger that would likely to appear at any moment. The Ochimusha, a fierce warrior known to be stern, showing no emotion as much as possible was… moved by the sudden change of mood of her companion.

She had known that Jorougomu for years and this was not how her companion behaved. Although there were often times that her cocky manner change as there were moments that were proven to be dire whenever they were on a mission. Her mood was as far as she could tell was… progressive in some way, meaning that she never instantly changed her attitude. However, seeing her like this, to quickly change her cocky demeanor to a frightened one brought fear within her. She does not know what she saw inside. She guessed that it was something worse.

She turned her head a little and saw that the crowd was starting to gather behind them.

"Hey, do you think they are done fighting?"

"I don't know man, but I think they are not done from the looks of them."

"Hun, I think we should leave now."

"Did anyone saw how that mummy fought against the Ochimusha? Damn, I never really saw that kind of mummy before!"

"You kiddin'? That mamono is straight-out weird. And have you seen its glowing eyes? It's really creepy.

"Hmph, that thing is just a mummy."

"Yeah, I know, but you saw it survive the onslaught right? And its weird body that can stretch."

The crowd murmured.

The Ochimusha then called the other Kamaitachi.

"Kuni! Ward the crowd off and away from here!" She told the Kamaitachi.

"Hai!" Kuni obeyed.

**BOOM!**

The mamonos and humans were startled and screamed from the sudden explosion. They began to disperse on their own as the debris went flying everywhere.

'_Damn it!' _The undead samurai cursed.

She saw her companions coughing after the explosion occurred.

**XXX**

"No!" The blue Oni despaired.

"What the fuck was that?!" The Red Oni cursed and coughed as dusts reached her.

Then she kept on talking and swearing from their situation. The Kunoichi however was keeping her attention at the site of the explosion; she too was startled from it. When the dust almost settled, she and her other companions saw a silhouette of a huge creature with a long horn. The thing was not befitting to that of a mamono's form. She saw the Ochimusha tensed up along with her other companions. The Kunoichi, Akui, seemed ready to flee. The Jorougumo defiantly hold her ground. The Kamaitachis were trembling. This was certainly not the mummy from before. It's completely something else.

The ground shook a little when it started to approach them. They saw what the creature's appearance looked like when it stepped out of the dusts to reveal itself. It was similar to that of an insectiod being, covered with a very hard black carapace, spikes protruding from its arms, legs and back. Its jaw and claws, from its hands and feet, gleamed dangerously.

There was one thing she could only utter from the sight of the monster.

"Shit…"

**XXX**

_To be continued…_


	5. Chapter 5

**_Ben 10 and MGE belong to their rightful owners._**

**_Warning: (Possible) Grammar Issues ahead._**

**_XXX_**

**_Unchained_**

The insectoid-being screamed something incomprehensible causing the people that were watching to stiffen in fear.

"What the hell is that thing?!"

"A pure monster?!"

"That thing should not exist in the first place!" Some of the crowds screamed in shock, terror and bewilderment or the combination three.

"Please everyone! Get out of here!" Kuni begged to the crowds. Although most of them had already fled from the scene, many were still persistent to stay, curious about the creature and the outcome.

The Ochimusha and her subordinates were petrified from the form of the beast that stood before them. A new unidentified creature had joined their fray that neither of them knew specifically. Many possible ideas came up in their head about what they were looking at right now. Of course, they had easily narrowed the species of this monster. It belonged to the insect species, a bug type according to its appearance alone. What made it unique somehow was the lack of its beauty that was common amongst the mamono kind. The being was hideous and by looking at it, many people would be repulsive on it.

They stood a few meters away from it and watched as the black insectiod-being examined its surrounding before landing its sight on them. The Ochimusha was now gritting her teeth because of their grievous situation. She tried to hold her position, but something within her told her that fighting the creature would be a very bad idea. However, some part of her, the duty-bound side of her told her that running away from the enemy was a shameful act and the order of the Lord of this land was absolute and must be done at all cost.

This confused her. If she were to engage and provoke this unknown creature, there was the possibility that she will not the only person that will perish from the fight, but also her subordinates and the people within the town. She could tell that the form of the creature can cause enormous damage if it will go into a mindless rampage, which she doubt that would ever happen. From what she can observe, the creature seemed calm and composed. It is possible that the creature was not aggressive in nature.

However, the more she looked at it, there was something familiar with it and with the mummy that they fought recently. Yes! The mana it was similar to the undead. Both had the same exotic mana. Not only that. Both seemed to also share the same unpleasant feeling. Its eyes were also glowing like the eyes of the mummy; however there was an addition to it. The eyes were not the only thing that was glowing, but also its horn. She stared down and onto its metallic jaw. She couldn't think much about it other than the idea of being bitten by it would surely going to be the most worst experience a person could ever had.

Being torn between her duty and life, the Ochimusha chose duty and readied herself. However, her subordinates were the opposite. One of them spoke.

"Wh-what should w-we do?" The Kunoichi asked fearfully.

"Retaliate…" She replied. Her glare deepened once more.

She rushed at the hulking being fearlessly. Akui, Aisa and Shigo stared at each other first before following the Ochimusha.

The creature responded to their hostility by clenching its claws into a fist and slamming it down with great force. This caused a strong tremor and the ground to rupture. The mamonos losed their balance because of it except for the Jorougumo who had more stability than them since she had more legs than her other colleagues. The three quickly recovered and advanced forward. The Kunoichi drawing a few kunais beneath her kimono, she threw them at the creature who barely move its arms to block them all. She snarled as her kunais simply bounced and deflected by the creature. As the second fastest person amongst her subordinates, she delivered a series of slash on the creature while gracefully dodging the creature's sluggishly clumsy attacks.

The Ochimusha was next to strike. She leaped into the air to deliver a powerful blow. Her eyes widened in shock when the being caught her sword, grabbing it near the hilt with its bare claws. Not wanting to let go of her weapon, she kicked its face multiple time, but it was no avail. The creature did not react nor flinch. There was something she noticed however. Despite the creature's lack of facial expression, she swore that it's smirking at her. Knowing the possible danger it could bring to her, she let go of her weapon and retreated back a few feet away, just in time when the creature delivered its claws down to the ground, causing another small tremor again.

The Ochimusha raised her arm to cover hey eyes against the dirt and dust that went flying everywhere. Before she could fully recover her momentum, the creature emerged from the dust and rammed her with its horn. The force of the ram had sent her few meters away and rolling down the street before abruptly halting, her bones rattled by the sheer force. She tried to stand, but failed to do so when her legs gave up causing her to fall again. She coughed several bloods on the ground before wiping them off of her mouth. The crowds that were still watching were horrified at the sight of her. The creature on the other hand had focused its attention to her sword before throwing it away.

The three saw what it did to their companion and quickly moved to retaliate. The Kunoichi send some of her kunais at the creature, but it blocked all of them with its arms easily. Before the creature could lower its arms, it was suddenly got covered by a thick layer of web. The creature shifted its head to find who the culprit was by following the line of web that was still connected to it. The insectoid-being saw that it was the half-woman half-spider being, the Jorougumo. Trying to subdue the insectoid-being, the Jorougumo tried to pull her webs, however, it did not do anything on the creature. She was instead flung into the air when creature pulled her own web, such monstrous strength it possessed. Before she was about crash on the ground with great force, there was a sudden burst of wind that appeared from below, slowing her fall in the process.

The creature wonder what was causing the wind to behave abnormally, but it remembered its previous encounter. It was weasel women. Using its strength, the creature easily broke free from the webbing that was holding its arms. After tearing down the webbing, the creature kneeled to scoop the ground below it, eating it after. This incident was seen by the Kunoichi. She was confused at the odd creature's behavior. Eating the soil seemed to be a weird appetite. She does not even know if there were such mamonos out there that had the same appetite as this creature. Probably it's just hungry or so she thought. Her answer came when she noticed the horn of the creature began to glow ominously brighter. She was petrified at it and quickly paid heed of the creature's attention. It was directed to the Kamaitachi who was helping one of their companions.

"Aisa, Shigo, watch out!" She tried to warn them.

The two were startled at her sudden call then quickly turned their head to creature. For moment, time seemed to slow down for them. The Kamaitachi instantly casted a strong powerful wind, causing the creature to misdirect the energy that came out from its horn. It instead shot upward, barely missing them just a few feet away. The Kamaitachi then went on to cast more wind against the creature. However, this was proven to be slightly useful at all because of the creature's body composition. It was not taken away by the wind, but enough to make it recoil from it. The Kamaitachi then send the wind downward, trying to pin the hulking beast down, but it was little to no avail at all.

She felt a little relief when the creature bended down, thinking that her power was finally taking an effect. She thought her ability was enough. But, when the creature started to crouch, running in all four at a great speed, it caused the Kamaitachi to panic and unleash a more powerful wind. The creature meanwhile was unfazed by this and continued to charge at her. Even the Jorougumo who blocked on its way did not stood a chance and had been struck by the creature like a charging battling ram when she tried to stop it.

Shigo, having no other choice, she casted the wind onto herself to blew her away from the rampaging monster, the only way of escape she could think of. Facing down, she saw the monster had halted its advance and now looking at her. Then there was the strange behavior of the monster again, kneeling down… and scooping the ground and eating it? She wondered what kind of being that will need such appetite to eat the soil. This creature and the mummy both had the same uncertainty within them. The strange abilities, appearance and strength they had are truly worth noting. While pondering in the air, she noticed the monster looking at her again. However, there was something about it that was very dangerous. Then looking at its horn, she saw it glowing in emerald green like its eyes, but it was different as it was glowing more and more brighter as if it was going to release something. She winced after recalling the recent events that had occurred. The creature was about to release its energy attack again! If not thanks to the Kunoichi who warned her, she will be probably be down by now. Manipulating her wind, she narrowly dodged the oncoming attack by moving in sideways. The risk was still there even she can freely move into the air, she was still a target that was wide open. So it was only a matter of time before the creature would able to shot her down in which she could not allow to happen to herself.

Meanwhile, the Kunoichi used this opportunity to sneak on the creatures back while its busy dealing with her companion. She sauntered closely, trying to avoid its attention. She was very sure that a hit from the creature whether its energy or through physical contact would guarantee a crippling blow to her. Just like how it rammed the Ochimusha and crippled her by its sheer strength. Fortunately for them, the samurai mamono was not down yet. However, her current state was not good due to their enemy's doing. She saw her recently before sneaking to the monster, trying to get up, but the damage that the creature had caused was obvious on her. This was bad for them. The Ochimusha was the only mamono they can rely into. If she will be removed in the fray, then there was no hope in stopping the creature. However, she doubted that even if the Ochimusha was in her full strength, there was no guarantee that she could defeat this… thing. If her sword can't even make a cut or even scratches on its hide, let alone the Ochimucha's sword, what chance do they had? Although there are weak points, the joint areas, it will be a suicide to go and attack those areas.

She draws her blade and starts to climb on the back of the creature. It was still not aware of her presence. Better. Maybe, its head was the only weakness it had. The thing doesn't even had a neck so she wondered how the creature turned its head. Probably it's just hidden beneath the thick layer of hide. Gripping her blade in reverse, she yelled out and stabbed the head but…

**Clink!**

'_What?'_ She was surprised. Even the head was covered in thick hide.

The creature's attention was now towards her; however it cannot reach her from behind. Shaking doesn't even do much as the Kunoichi took ahold of the horns firmly. Having no choice because of the mamono's stubborn grip, the creature opened its back, revealing a pair of wings and flew up into the air much to the disbelief of the Kunoichi who never thought the creature could actually fly. She did not anticipated it. All so she could do was hold the creature and try not to fall down. However, the creature had a plan for her. It folded its wings and hid it back and let itself fall back first. The mamono on its back froze at what creature's intending to do. The Kunoichi was alarmed and screamed out of fear of being crushed underneath. The creature heard this and quickly shifted its body while falling and landed on its feet with great force.

The ground shook violently from its rough landing. Then it heard something fall from its back. Looking behind, it saw the Kunoichi, trembling. The creature sighed at this as stared at her scared figure.

"You!" Someone yelled.

The creature shifted its attention to the origin of the voice. The voice belonged to the undead samurai that it fought recently. The creature was shocked when it saw the current state of the undead samurai. From her mouth, blood was coming out, pouring and staining her and the very ground she stood. She was now wielding her katana again after recovering it when the creature decided to throw it away. The Ochimusha was not alone though. On her side, the Weasel was supporting her from falling. The creature could feel the intense glare and murderous intent of the undead samurai which actually made it terrified, albeit it did not show it. But at the same time, it felt really bad after what it had done to her. It did not expect that ramming her would cause so much damage. The creature thought that they had more durability than humans because of the dexterity that they showed up in the battle and also because of their appearance. It turned out that they were still fragile as humans, maybe lesser but still fragile nonetheless. The insectoid-creature then looked at the remaining crowds the surrounded them. It could see the terror that it caused through their eyes.

The creature wanted to talk and stop them from attacking again, but all the word it could spit out was gibberish. The creature doubted that it could resolve whatever issue they had sooner since it still cannot understand them. If only the Omnitrix was…

**Omnitrix Self-Repairing Module: Complete…**

The AI of the Omnitrix suddenly spoke.

**Omnitrix Functionality: 100%**

**All Previous Forms: Unlocked…**

**Omnitrix Update: Done…**

The creature couldn't hide its joy and screamed inwardly.

The mamonos meanwhile…

"What is that?" The Ochimusha questioned.

"Did you hear it too?" Shigo asked her curiously.

"Yes, I can hear it very well." She then covered her mouth when she coughed some bloods.

"So you can speak?" She said curiously, still eyeing on the mamono warily.

The creature took regard of her question as it turned its head towards her.

"I can…" It replied plainly, voice seemed to be distorted by metal, like a man speaking inside of a helmet. Now she realized something from its voice. She wondered if this creature was like them, a mamono. The idea was not improbable. The appearance said it all, but not just its appearance, its voice too. This creature and the mummy were filled with mystery within them, truly.

"Then you will understand this." The Ochimusha raised her sword at the creature.

"Still trying to take me down? Give up already. You're trying to make your condition worst. " The creature told her.

"You are an anomaly amongst us. We must be thorough…" The creature grunted in dismay at her.

"Hey, you." Eatle pointed at Weasel.

"Y-yes!" The Kamaitachi startled at the creature.

"Tell your samurai friend here to stop already or I'll have no choice but to kick her butt again." Shigo nodded profusely.

"We-we should leave the creature alone…" The Kamaitachi told the undead samurai who was still clinging on her side.

"I cannot believe you are actually agreeing to the creature, Shigo." The Ochimusha spat at her, clearly disappointed, but the Kamaitachi gave her a disapproving look.

"Very well, then. If I must, I will do it alone!" The Ochimusha said to her.

"That is enough, Onashi." A voice that she recognized interjected.

It belonged to the Kunoichi which she thought that they had subdued. Together with her were the Blue and Red Oni. Kohana shifted her gaze onto the creature, examining it. Whilst doing that, she made many theories as to what the creature really was. One of the theories she could came up with was the non-fulfillment of the rule of the Demon Lord. However, such rule was impossible to break as most mamonos were bound by the will of the current Demon Lord that was a succubus. Such case of failed transformation hadn't been reported even across the world and she was pretty sure that no one was exempted from this. So why does this thing existed in first place? Or the real question: was it a female or not?

"You sure about this, Kohana? The creature looks very… intimidating." Akko whispered whilst eyeing warily on the insectiod-creature.

Kohana ignored this. She shifted her gaze to the injured Ochimusha as she went to address her.

"I see… You are truly an excellent Kunoichi, Kohana, for escaping a Jorougumo's web, truly an artist." Onashi complimented.

"I am not here for such flattery, Onashi." The Kunoichi bluntly said to her. "As you can see, the result of your action had almost cost not only your life, but including the lives of our colleagues."

"Hmm! Guessed that you have learned your lesson in the hard way." The Red Oni, Akko, added, smirking at them.

"I cannot. The Lord…" She stopped when the Kunoichi interposed.

"You must, Onashi. You and our colleagues just made the situation worse." Kohana told the Ochimusha before turning her attention to the creature.

"Greetings, stranger." She bowed. "My name is Ebino Kohana, a Kunoichi, as what my other subordinates calls me. This is Yusa and Akko, both are Oni." She introduced.

The creature sighed deeply and nodded.

"The name is Eatle for now." Eatle introduced shortly.

"For now?"

"A story for another time…" The Kunoichi nodded.

"Pardon for my companions' attitude earlier. Rest assured that they will not attack you again." She told the creature.

"It is fine. I've dealing with this kind of stuff for years." Eatle shrugged then looking at the Blue Oni who was also staring at him thoroughly before looking back at the Kunoichi.

"Out of curiosity, I have one question…" The Kunoichi said to Eatle.

"Are you a female?" The Kunoichi suddenly came up out of nowhere.

"You serious?"

"I am…"

The expression of Eatle's face was indiscernible, but inwardly, he was surprised that the so-called Kunoichi suddenly came up with such question. He found it really weird. Most of all, why would she ask that kind of question to him? Of course he was a not female. He was clearly a male judging by his voice alone. However, when he stared at them, he could tell that the Kunoichi was not the only person who wanted to know the answer but also her other subordinates.

'_What's up with it?'_ That is what he thought.

He exasperated a little before answering question.

"No, I am clearly a male." This caused them to gasp in total shock which he found it weird.

"Impossible!" Akko exclaimed.

"Indeed, Akko." The Kunoichi agreed.

"You are clearly lying! A monster like you is a male? Ridiculous!" The Ochimusha blurted out.

'_Monster? Ah, so they don't know the existence of aliens yet.'_ He surmised.

"What do you mean ridiculous? Have you not encountered any male monsters in the past?" This made Eatle curious as to why they were shock when he told them that he was a male. Which begged the question, what happened to male monsters from this world?

"No since the rule was different now." The Kunoichi answered him albeit filled with riddle.

"However, if you are telling the truth about you being a male then you are an anomaly amongst us." She told him.

'_She is still referring to me as one of them even when I'm totally different.' _He thought.

"Now to prove your words, we want you to come with us." She told the hulking creature.

Eatle took a glimpse on his surrounding and noticed that some of the crowds were still watching complete with different reaction on their face. He could tell that they were scared of him, a natural reaction after seeing something they had never seen before. He too was scared when he discovered the Omnitrix when he was just ten. He doesn't know what or how the device work. But when he learned what it was and its use, he was fascinated about it, while also learning the fact that his grandfather was literally a 'space cop' a Plumber in the past.

He returned his attention to the Kunoichi and stared right directly on her eyes and asked one question.

"What if I refuse?" He said to her.

"Then I and my colleague will have to do what is necessary." He saw her unsheathing her katana slowly beneath her kimono.

The atmosphere changed quickly after the Kunoichi said that. The creature did not react much, but she sensed hostility from it. Kohana unsheathed her katana slightly, ready to defend herself just in case the creature would not follow them. To be honest, she was also afraid of the insectiod-being after seeing its unparalleled ability to shoot energy, with the exceptions of the magic users of course. But unlike them, that ability of the creature seemed to be already integrated to its body, meaning that it's one of its natural abilities aside from eating the soil however. There was also the fact the creature possessed a great strength that could easily par with the brutish mamonos like Minotaurs.

"Uh huh… I have no other choice then aren't I? But I prefer the other option." The creature spoke threateningly.

"Sorry, but it's a no for me." That did it.

Before the Kunoichi and the Red Oni could barely react, Eatle instantly slapped his Omnitrix, enveloping the area with blinding emerald light. The mamonos and humans quickly covered their eyes from the bright light. When the lights died off and the creature was nowhere to be seen.

"Well, that has wrapped all things up from here." The Red Oni commented.

"Wha-what about my friend?" Yusa asked and went on the rubble to find if her friend was still there.

The Kunoichi sheathed her katana and turned to the Blue Oni who was digging in the ruins of the abandoned house.

"Rest, Yusa. Your friend is not there anymore. I cannot sense 'her' mana." She told the worried Oni.

"It disappeared along with the creature."

"No…" She suddenly tear up.

The Red Oni placed her arms around the Blue Oni's shoulders to try and comfort her who was about to cry.

"Don't worry; we'll search up for 'her' while we also search for that monster too." She assured and gave her a toothy grin.

"You fools!" The Ochimusha screamed at them furiously.

"Not only that we have failed to subdue the creature, you also created a risk for all of inhabitants of this town!" She added.

"Take it easy, Onashi. I'm sure we can find the creature." Shigo tried to calm her.

"No! We really must find it immediately, Shigo, lest it would cause chaos to this town." The Ochimusha insisted in which she simply frowned in response.

"You are persistent yet your body is denying." The Kunoichi said to her.

"Have some rest, we will deal with it." She told the Ochimusha.

"Tch… As much as I hate this, I cannot do anything right now because of my current condition. Fine, I will take a rest. And Shigo…" She called the Kamaitachi.

"Yes?!"

"Once Hino get recovered, I want the three of you to report this to the Lord. Leave Kohana and Akko out from it. Understood?" She told the Kamaitachi.

"Hai!" Shigo complied.

"As for the other Oni…" She was cut off from her line.

"She will leave; she has nothing to do with this. She is just but a mere Oni who happens to encounter such creature, nothing less nothing more." The Kunoichi told the Ochimusha as if she was challenging her.

"Do not be ridiculous!" The undead samurai scowled at her.

"The Oni will leave, Onashi…" The Kunoichi glared at her.

"She has nothing to do with this quarrel of ours like I said. She is merely but a small part of a conflict, a victim or casualty per se." She added.

Kohana then looked back at the blue Oni.

"Leave, Yusa. We will take care of the mess here from now on." She told her.

"And Akko, please help miss Yusa carry her belongings back to her home." The Red Oni shrugged and complied.

"Alright, c'mon." She said as she picked up the log and other stuffs lying on the ground, leaving the rest of mamonos behind.

**XXX**

**(In front of Yusa's house…)**

"Here you go…" The Red Oni dropped the log down just near the gate of Yusa's house.

"T-Thank you…" The Blue Oni stuttered, still in deep thought about her friend.

"Don't bother. Besides, it's just a small payment for our failure. I and my friend, Kohana, did really mean to just talk this thing out but err… some assholes got in our way. I'm deeply sorry…" The Red Oni apologized and prostrated in front of the Blue Oni.

"Oh, do-don't that! It's really fine anyway. Hehehe, it's not like it is your fault." Yusa said the Red Oni while waving her hands frantically.

"Oh?" Akko stood up.

"Still, my apologies." She insisted.

"Like I said, it's fine…" She took a deep breath before continuing.

"I would also like to apologize for my early behavior by the way. I'm just… scared on what you are going to do with my friend, but trust me; 'she' doesn't really want to cause any harm. Heck, 'she' even took care of me when I was … sick." Yusa half lied.

"I see. And oh, about that, you shouldn't be worried at all now. We will take care of it. We will try to persuade the others, especially that Ochimusha, to try not to provoke 'her' in attacking us again." Akko sweared.

"Thanks…"

"Welcome as always!" Akko bowed at her and bade her a fare well after that.

Yusa carried her belongings inside before closing the gate of her house. She dragged the log in the storage room at the back of her house before getting inside to drop her other items the she had bought from the market. When she was done putting the items from where they should be placed, she removed her kimono and went on for a bath.

After taking a bath, she dressed back and headed to her room. She began setting her bed on the floor properly before resting on it. She lied down and tried to sleep, however, her mind was still in deep thought after what was just happened earlier. She wasn't surprised when some mamonos had actually tried to capture her friend. The mummy was an anomaly indeed as the Ochimusha said, but it doesn't mean they need to be harsh on 'her'. 'She' hasn't even done anything wrong yet here they were, trying to straight-out murder 'her'! Then she realized that she did the same act to the mummy which was embarrassing to admit. How hypocritical for herself. Although she did not wanted to kill the strange mamono, it's almost the exact same thing as what they did to her. There was still a small tinge of guilt that still remained within after she realized it.

"Ugh, I can't believe that I did that to 'her'." She muttered to herself, placing a hand over her face.

As for the other creature… she doesn't really know anything to think about it. It just appeared out of nowhere and in the exact same house where the mummy plummeted down into. That… insectoid-creature or whatever it was. Honestly, she could care less about the creature since it's just a stranger, but emerging from the same spot as the mummy was far from just being a mere coincidence. Really, really far from being mere a coincidence. Just to think about it, both shared the same green eyes, the same mysterious vibe on them. The differenced about the two however were their appearance obviously of course, their uncanny abilities, the capability to talk as the mummy lacked one and… she could not actually think more other than that.

She scratched her head and rolled into the side of her bed. She will think about it tomorrow. For now, she needed to sleep. Closing her eyes and went into deep slumber.

**XXX**

**(Morning…)**

Yusa had awoken up from the grumbling her of stomach. She went to grab her stomach and sighed. The Blue Oni forgot to actually eat her dinner. Well, she can't blame herself. She was too tired to make a dinner for herself after all that had happened yesterday. Suddenly, she heard a rustling noise outside of her house. She wondered who or what made that kind of noise. She listened further only to realize that it's actually the sound of someone who was sweeping.

She quickly ran outside, not even minding fixing her bed first before proceeding. When she opened the shoji and saw who it was. Her eyes opened wide as she felt joy after seeing the figure again. It was 'her' the mummy! The undead mamono was currently sweeping her backyard.

'She' saw her and stopped from what 'she' was currently doing to greet her.

"Hi!" The mummy waved at her.

"Hello!" Yusa greeted back and paused as the mummy went on to sweep the leaves again.

'_Wait, what the hell?!'_ She instantly realized.

**XXX**

_To be continued…_


	6. Chapter 6

**_Ben 10 and MGE belong to their rightful owners._**

**_XXX_**

**_Introductions_**

**_(Unknown Location…)_**

The Ochimusha and the rest of the mamonos that were beaten by the unknown insectoid-creature were currently treating themselves by applying various medications they had available. Whilst doing this, the undead samurai had been already plotting on how to defeat such foe after the fight. There were various cunning methods that she knew of, but her problem was how to implement them in the actual battle.

One and foremost effective strategy she had is luring the creature into some sort of trap. Then after it, now what? She thought for a moment. A trap was the only way; however, what would they do next? The creature was proven to be quite strong and unique. Adding the fact the creature was also sentient, meaning that it was capable of thinking, measuring decisions and choices at a certain degree.

There was also the inclusion of the undead mamono that, by the gods' good grace, was now on the run and probably hiding somewhere and silently preying on the humans of the town. Adding the fact that its ability alone, if utilized efficiently, would be really troublesome for the townsfolk as the thing can fold itself like a paper, slithering itself towards its unsuspecting victim with ease and proficiency. Except, the two had an eerily similarities to one another, the mana they gave off was the same. So, should the mummy try to sneak to its prey, the mamonos with keen senses would be able to detect it and tell their current whereabouts. Unfortunately, not all mamonos had keen senses in terms of dealing with mana of course. Not all of them were gifted to have such feature in them. Moreover, there was a harrowing sensation lingered to those two. Although their mana was abundant and unique, there was a part of it that felt so mysterious in nature, as if it doesn't belong to this world at all.

She could let the insectoid-creature pass this time, but the mummy? No. The thing was rich in mana that they could sense it few meters away. For an undead having that amount mana was already questionable, then what else could it be to have such that kind in high amount? It's quite a distressing in nature when addressing this kind of matters in which, she admitted to herself, was out of her expertise. Being also an undead, she could not empty her thoughts about it. If the mummy and the insectoid being were only humans, she was sure that many mamonos would try to swarm them. And probably even her.

'_No, I must save my body to my master, my only mate.'_ She reminded herself in which, no matter how disappointing it is, doesn't exist yet. Even though there were plentiful of men, she still hasn't picked one yet. Despite most of them had actually tried to court her, she always turned them down. Even the warriors who were supposed to be her type still didn't pass either as she found most of them were only good in mouths. She doesn't need a man with bravado; she needed a man that was true to himself and to her. Although, the lord of this land was the only man who fitted her standards, there was still part of him that was lacking.

She shook those thoughts as they were currently irrelevant to her situation. She must address those threats first.

"Meow~ Are all of you done?" A person purred and spoke.

The Ochimusha landed her eyes at the Nekomata, Suzako.

After licking the back of her palm, she hopped down from the ceiling and walk towards them. Her slit-shaped, almond-colored eyes rigorously examining them and their present condition. The Ochimusha was partially covered in bandages, the Jorougumo was resting on a make-shift bed, the other Kamaitachi, Hino, was drinking water, finally regaining consciousness after getting smacked to the ground by the mummy and lastly, the Kunoichi who was busy sharpening her katana and was still silent after the fight. The Nekomata wondered why she was silent the whole time after their encounter. Regardless, she will gave her space if this what she wanted.

"Suzako, it is nice to you here." Onashi spoke.

"It's nice to you too, Onashi. I hope you are recovering already."

"I am, thanks to the medicines and herbs that you have brought to us." The Ochimusha thanked the Nekomata.

"It's just a small effort." Suzako shrugged.

"Still, it is a huge help for us." Onashi insisted.

Then there a was sudden loud crash as the Red Oni sent her club down to ground, not minding them.

"Hey! Can you at least have consideration before doing that?" The Nekomata scolded her.

"Hmph…" The Oni only raised her shoulders in response.

Suzako rubbed and her head out of irritation. Then recalling the event that had transpired earlier, she still remembered how futile her colleagues' efforts were when dealing with the second monster that they had fought. That time, she feared for them. Fear that they will somewhat lose their lives trying to eliminate the monster. The insectoid-creature's strength was no joke at all. By slamming down its fist on the ground, it easily created a shockwave and a deep concave on the ground. Furthermore, the toughness of the creature must be taken seriously. The thick carapace it possessed as a biological armor can block and shrug off most of the attack they can throw at it without much problem.

Dealing with the abnormal mummy was easy, but this being just multiplied the difficulty by tenfold. At least the mummy, despite the incredible strength it also possessed, had a weakness and its weakness was the fragility of its body. Having the power of manipulating the bandages like tentacles had its advantage, no matter how weird it was.

There is also the problem with the mummy. In spite getting sliced, stab or pierced by sharp objects, the mummy was never been undeterred by those things. Yes, they only could somewhat slow it down or stun it, but the thing just kept coming back. The Nekomata also came up with the idea of regeneration as shown how the mummy keeps using 'her' bandages no matter how many times the Ochimusha cut them.

They seemed to grow back at incredible pace too after being cut numerous times. Its flexibility can be also added as a factor. When the Ochimusha was about to cut its head, the mummy bended its head back at a certain degree that most being wouldn't able to achieve unless they were gifted with such physical features like being a slime for example. On the other hand, the mummy having no blood at all, according to the undead samurai, was truly bizarre. That mamono should spill blood when getting cut or hit hard, but it didn't show any. She doesn't really know as the undead was covered from head to toe in bandages. But even so, the anomaly's bandages should have some signs of bloodstain on its body, but yet again, it doesn't show any. Perhaps the thing was hollow inside and a spirit was residing within it?

And also, while being believed to be in a dead state, supposedly, the mummy, ironically, always gave off a strong exotic mana from its body like a miasma. She doesn't know the use of it yet. Although she could come up with many ideas, none of them would be suffice. If she will think out of the box of how the mana work, she could probably have an answer albeit senseless it's still an answer nonetheless. It's very abundant that it was so tempting for some reason.

Being also a magic-user, she too could clearly sense it very well as clear as water. What she does not understand was the abundance of mana it had. For an undead that was impossible to have such that kind amount of mana as they were known to rely on the livings, feeding from the life-essence. Not only that, the insectoid-creature had almost the same identical mana to the mummy which confused her the most.

"Are you thinking about them?" The Ochimusha suddenly spoke.

"I am truly curious, Onashi." She replied.

"You and I are the same right now, Suzako." Onashi commented as she caress her stomach that was covered with bandage.

"And you know the danger they possess if we don't chase and bring them down." The Nekomata sighed at her.

"Please, don't put me into this fight of yours. I'm just a scout for our group… and~ I do not like violence. So I leave them to you." She told her as she kneeled on the floor to sit.

"Hmm… I wonder…" She muttered.

"Wonder what?" Onashi raised an eyebrow.

"I wonder how the Sabbath would react to this, especially Royal Makai herself…" The Ochimusha's eyes widened.

"This could be really troublesome to all of us. While they are still busy plotting against the Order and one of its very important territory, Lescatie, there are no assurance that they would not divert some of their forces on our land just to scour and investigate about those beings, just to know if they were true or but mere rumors at all…" Onashi said as she folded her arms.

"Many witches will be swarming this place no sooner once the rumors spread out across the world…" She irked an eyebrow.

"Hmm, from your tone alone, I could tell that you do not like them much."

"I really do not…" The undead said to her straightly.

"It would be wise if we keep the rumors from spreading out of this town…" A voice spoke.

"Kohana? Where have you been all this time?" The Nekomata questioned.

"Patrolling the surroundings…" The Kunoichi then dropped her items on the floor slowly and removed her mask.

"I'd overheard about your conversation, about the Royal Makai, isn't it? I find it really troublesome too once this rumor starts to spread out of this town. While they do not care much about Zipangu, it does not mean that this one alone will not give them the courage to do so. Although our place was considered to be _Heretical_ especially by the Order who still have its grip somewhere within our lands, the demons of Royal Makai have never meddled with our affairs before. I also doubt the witches would take interest in our case, maybe some when they learn about the creature that can shoot energy from its horns, so they are not much to worry about them. However, if the news that there are monsters the lives beyond the influence of the current Demon Lord… let's just all hope that hell would never be let loose. I also don't want this place to turn into a demon realm." She told them.

"My… You know much about them, don't you, Kohana?" Suzako complimented her.

"I know about them because I have worked for them in the past." She explained.

"Useful motivation for us to find those creatures as soon as possible…" The Ochimusha commented.

"Are you really considering that as a _useful motivation_?" The Nekomata facepalmed.

"Well, it truly is as it gives us all the more reason to finish this duty of ours." Kohana added.

"I hope this time you will not stand in our way and fulfill the Lord's order, Kohana…" Onashi gave her a threatening stare.

"And make the situation worse again? You do know that you almost die after battling the hulking beast, Onashi! Luckily, it seems that the creature doesn't have any grudges on us after what you all did…" She reminded her.

"Please, calm down everyone! Let us just take a rest and think about it tomorrow, 'kay~?" The Nekomata suggested.

"Hmph…" The Ochimusha only uttered.

The Kunoichi meanwhile, silently head off on her own without minding them. Whilst doing this, she pondered for moment before shaking them out from her head. For now she needed to sleep.

**XXX**

**_(Yusa's Residence…)_**

"Yo-you can talk?" Yusa questioned shakily.

The mummy stopped from its doing and stared at her in confusion as to why she talked like 'she' was being interrogated to death. Tilting its head, the mummy spoke.

"Are you alright? You look pale. Have you eaten your dinner? I know that our yesterday trip was rough… I'm really sorry for that. I'm not going to tag along with you again." The mummy apologized.

Yusa paused as she gazed on the mummy a savour all the words that it said. She was surprised on how kind the mummy was in actual. A trait that she never thought the undead possessed. Despite 'her' expressionless face, she could tell that 'she' was truly sorry for her and for the trouble 'she' had brought to her.

That actually touched her heart and the guilt that she felt were now accumulating. Now she wondered why she did that to 'her'.

"By the way, is there anything you want me to do after sweeping the backyard?" The voice of the mummy snapped her mind back to reality.

She raised her hand and pointed at the mummy.

"You… get inside, quick!" She pointed at her house.

"Okay, just let me place this properly." The mummy replied to her while stacking all the leaves together.

"Just forget about that. I'll do it later." The mummy shrugged and left the leaves to get inside the house.

Once they were inside, the Oni quickly told the mummy to sit down as she did the same. The mummy shrugged 'her' shoulders, and sat down. There was a moment of silence to the two as none of them were willing to talk first. However, the mummy was first to break the silence.

"So… what now? You've been spacing quite often than usual. Is something that matter?" The mummy asked worriedly.

"Uh no… it's just… I was surprised." Yusa stuttered while not trying to look at the mummy straightly in its glowing eyes.

"Surprise of me talking to you right now?" The mummy seemed to jest.

"Well, that and other stuffs…" Yusa then began to fidget her fingers.

The mummy, as if having an eyebrow mentally, raised one as it fixed itself from where it sat. Staring at the troubled… lady, that was what it's going to refer to her since the undead doesn't know the species of the lady, the undead breathe deeply and spoke to her calmly and showing sincerity on its voice.

"Are you still thinking about yesterday or…" The undead paused for a moment when it recalled something that can be the actual reason for the lady to feel troubled.

"I think I know now…" The mummy muttered silently.

"You're still thinking about what you did to me back on the sailor's ship, aren't you?" This made Yusa flinch out of shock.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She bowed frantically.

The mummy chucked at her comedic act.

'_Yep, very Japanese…' _The undead jested mentally.

"Nah, apology accepted." The mummy reassured her.

"Now you can stop doing that, seriously." Yusa halted and fixed herself.

"I'm sorry…" The Oni repeated albeit silently this time.

"Geez, no worries. In fact, it's a natural instinct considering that I'm a mummy who is capable of controlling my bandages in my body. I'm pretty sure that you're not the only person who freaked out from my appearance." The mummy chuckled as it recalled the memories.

"O-okay, but I'm really sorry." The mummy sighed at her.

"You know, for someone who look so brave and fierce, you're quite an apologetic person, huh?" The undead joked. The mummy then extend its arms and move towards the blue lady.

Yusa jerked at the sudden behavior of the mummy. As if the mummy could sense her discomfort, it stopped its hands and for a moment and talked.

"Relax, let me just fix your hair." The undead told her.

"O-okay…" The undead then began to brush her head then her. Slowly, the mummy tried to pull her back gathered them together. After that, it tied the blue lady's hair using its own bandage, making it look like a simple pony-tail. Although there were some hair left, it doesn't really matter at all anyways since they were just few still tangling around the blue lady's face.

"There, now you look beautiful!" Yusa suddenly blushed from the compliment of her friend.

Out of embarrassment, she quickly covered her face.

"Ugh, why do I feel so flustered?" She cried.

After that, Yusa took heed of the attention of the mummy that seemed to be staring at her, but not the directly to her face. It looked like the undead was looking just above her face, just about the forehead where her horns were.

'_Why is 'she' looking at my horns?'_ She thought.

"Horns, huh? I quickly forgot about them…" The undead muttered quietly.

"Ah, ah… I'm Yusa, Kogane Yusa, by the way." She suddenly introduced herself, still feeling a little bit embarrassed.

"Don't think it as a special treatment. I just thought that I should introduce myself again! Though I can't really remember if I already introduced myself!" She added.

"Snare-oh, a he… Nevermind." The mummy halted and shrugged its thoughts.

"Nice to meet you!" The undead offered a hand.

"Uhm…" Yusa hummed. Confused as what to do with it.

"Right… hehehe." The undead pulled its arm.

"Okay, different culture…" The mummy mentally slapped itself.

"Oh, well. It's nice to meet you too, Snare-oh!" She bowed.

"Feel free staying in my home! Though that was unnecessary to say since you are already living here for a week now, but still!" Yusa smiled at the undead.

The Oni took regard of mummy's eyes as if they were saying something about her.

'_Weird…' _She thought.

"That's it for the introduction I think? Anyway… I would like to ask some questions. Where am I right now? This is japan, right?" Snare-oh asked.

"Japan? I've never heard of such a place before." This made Snare-oh slightly blew after the blue lady known as Yusa said that.

"We are currently in Zipangu right now. You know, the land in the east? Where mamonos varying in types and forms, from Yokais to just simple monster girls, live in harmony together with the humans." Yusa briefly explained.

"Zipangu…" The mummy folded its arms and made a deep thought about it.

The Oni gaze at her friend with slight interest and curiosity as how an undead like 'her' can talk. Though the idea sound stupid as some undead can talk depending on their types. This undead right before her eyes was a mummy. An undead that supposed to be… dumb or completely mindless, just acting on basic instinct. This mummy named Snare-oh was quite fascinating as 'she' can talk and communicate very well. 'She' even asked where 'she' was right now.

However, why would 'she' ask 'her' current whereabouts? That question had made her curious as to why the undead would ask such question in the first place. Most people around the world if not very, at least had little knowledge about their home, Zipangu. This was the complete opposite for the Mist continent however. Now, back to the current topic. If the undead doesn't know where 'she' was right now, that would going to be a minor problem since 'she' would possibly lose 'her' ways in this land.

The real question however was, did 'she' lose her memory? The obvious culture of their land was already the giveaway that they were currently in Zipangu. So was it possible for a person to lose their memories after getting resurrected from the dead? That was vague to say the least. But what can she tell about death? It's not like she experienced it firsthand. The individual in front of her however may have some answers or at least insights about death since 'she' had already experienced it before being turned into a mummy.

"Um… Can I ask you question?" She inquired.

"Shoot."

"How did you become like that? How does being dead feels like?" Yusa asked curiously.

"Huh?" The mummy was dumbfounded at her question.

"I mean are you not one already? You are a mummy though."

"I think we are having a misunderstanding here." Snare-oh sighed.

"I'm a mummy, yes? But not because I'm a mummy it does not mean I am already, by default, dead." The mummy told her.

"Eh? A mummy like you is supposed to be dead already. Isn't that the very nature of your kind?"

"No… And I'm clearly alive. Maybe, you are referring to mummies that are in Egypt."

"Egypt?" Yusa tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Oh right… Japan doesn't exist here, so Egypt will be also included." The mummy remembered.

"I don't know where this Egypt is, but the only place I knew where they reside is in the Desert Region, at least most of them."

"Well, that was to be expected." Snare-oh commented plainly.

"Where did you come up with those name by the way?" Yusa asked curiously.

"You will not believe it in the first place." The undead exasperated while rubbing its head out of irritation.

"This place, this time… I'm really far away from my dimension… away from world, my home…" Snare-oh muttered unconsciously that was loud enough for the Oni to hear.

"What do you mean?"

"It's nothing…" Yusa narrowed her eyes a bit.

She felt that the mummy was hiding something from her somehow. She clearly heard what Snare-oh said. Yusa clearly heard it what 'she' just said. 'She' was away from 'her' dimension. 'Her' world, 'her' home. Does that mean she did not originated from this world? That 'she' was something else rather than being a normal mummy? No wonder why 'she' was so peculiar and unique amongst the mamono kind. That and there was also the fact that this kind of mummy should not be consider as a mamono at all.

But she could be wrong. The Oni think that she just probably misheard what 'she' said. Different dimension? That was a topic that was never been discussed before. The existence of different dimension was arguably an odd topic. The only dimension that she had in mind was the afterlife and realms of the Gods. Though she was not sure if she could consider them as different dimensions. Those places existed beyond normal mortal comprehension. And probably, the only beings that can understand their nature on how they work were the Gods themselves.

Remembering that previous encounter, she tried to recall what the Kunoichi asked to that insectiod beast. She questioned it if whether that monster was a male or a female. Into her surprise, the insect monster said that it's a male, meaning that it was unbound by the power of the current Demon Lord. That was frightening thought though. If monsters like that existed, unshackled by the influence of the Demon Lord, the world they were living in would possibly fall back into despair and chaos. It was a scary thought that some monsters have actually resisted the transformation. Who knew what they were planning or doing right now! There was no telling what they were capable of if they march in one banner. And imagine the powers they possibly had. The strength and abilities that the insect monster had shown were no joke at all. That one was already deadly with its own abilities, so just imagine having different kind of monsters with different kind of powers like that creature.

'_Ugh, why I suddenly think about it?! I'm just scaring myself.'_ The Oni shook off those thoughts away from her mind.

Yusa breathed deeply and fixed herself. She stared at the mummy who was also staring at her.

'_Okay, I hope 'she' won't get offended by my question.' _She breathed again.

'_Here it goes…'_

She turned her gaze at the mummy and sternly, she straightened her body as if she was intimidating an enemy.

"Please, don't get angry with my question." She reassured first.

"No worries." The mummy simply shrugged.

"Are you a male or a female?" She finally did it.

Now the only thing she needed to do was to wa…

"I'm a male, obviously." The mummy's instant reply.

"What?!" That was really unexpected yet expected at the same time, if the 'she' no he was truly from a different dimension.

"What?" The mummy parroted.

"You!" She pointed at the mummy as if accusing him with a heinous crime.

"Me?"

"Yo-you are a male?!" She asked shakily.

"Hey, just be cool okay? Why are you even afraid of that matter?" The mummy seemed to sense her fear.

"Bu-but you're… no. You are not from here, right? You are from a different dimension." She concluded.

The mummy simply chuckled at her.

"So, you would believe if I said I am from a different dimension?" He asked.

"No shit. I don't believe it, but that's the only possible answer to my questions." Snare-oh grunted after hearing her swear.

"Geez, I don't know you people swear." He sighed.

"But really, what's the matter if I'm a male? That ninja woman also asked the same thing before going berserk on me after saying that I am a male." He added.

'_The Kunoichi asked that question on the insectoid being… but this mummy said that she also asked the same question. That only means…' _She was petrified from the realization.

"You are that creature!" She screamed.

"Shush! Don't get too loud okay?! And yeah, I'm also that being." Snare-oh told whilst trying to calm her down.

"A-alright, I'll try. You're not going to hurt me, right?" She tried to make sure first.

"If I'm going to hurt you then I would have done it already." He retorted.

"Y-you have a point, but still…"

"I just can't believe a monster like you came from a different dimension, let alone being also that creature!" She exclaimed.

"Okay, first off I'm not a monster, Yusa. Second, I'm an alien. A species that lives beyond the stars! Ever heard of them?"

"About aliens? No. But beings from the stars and beyond? You mean like heaven?" Yusa wondered.

"Heaven? As in a place in the afterlife?" The mummy was surprised at this.

"Erm, not exactly a place for us, but for the Gods themselves." She clarified.

"Oh…" Yusa could tell that the mummy seemed to be amused and curious about the idea of heaven based from his behavior as it remained silent for moment, probably pondering about it.

"Just what are you, by the way?!" She demanded.

"I'm just a guy who wants to save the world!" The mummy answered confidently.

"And a shape-shifter as well since you just said that you are also that insectoid creature." Yusa added though was a bit skeptical about it.

"Wait… what do mean by 'a guy who wants to save the world'? Are you implying that you are a hero of some sort?" The Blue Oni raised her brow.

"Heh, well?"

"Ugh!" Yusa laid her back down to the floor.

"What's the matter?" Snare-oh tilted his head to left.

"I'm just surprised."

"Well, who wouldn't though?" Snare-oh commented and chuckled

Yusa turned her head towards to Snare-oh. The unde… the mummy seemed to be jovial in nature. The way 'she'… he talked amongst his kind. But yet again, she don't know if she can consider him as one of the mummies that resided in the desert regions as they were, both literally and figuratively, lifeless, a direct contrast to him.

'_Oh right… different dimension.' _She recalled.

"I want to know more one thing." The mummy spoke, albeit in a more serious tone.

"What happened to the male monsters in this world? Why are they so shocked when they found out I'm a male?" Snare-oh asked.

Yusa rose from the floor and sat straight, legs crossed to each other.

"That's because of the current Demon Lord, Snare-oh…" Yusa answered.

"Demon Lord?" Even with the lack of expression, Yusa could tell that he was surprised as his body flinched after answering his question.

"As in a literal Demon Lord?!" He repeated.

"Yes… As you see, this will not happen because of her. Long time ago, men and monsters were not in good terms as the monsters in the past were brutal, savage and cruel in nature. They will ravage any village and kingdom that belongs to men. Of course, during that event of those times, chosen people will rise to fight against them. They are the _Heroes_ that was chosen by the Chief God who will rally and unite the humans in one banner against the monsters. They will win and prosper after the defeat of the demon lord whilst the monster will try to fight amongst themselves on who will be the next demon lord. And the cycle will begin again. An endless war. Those were the dark ages." Yusa explained solemnly.

"You still did not answer my question. What happened to them?" Snare-oh asked, voice is shaking about the revelation.

"Have I not told you already? Because of the Demon Lord that had caused it." Yusa answered him.

"Make it clear…" Snare-oh told her.

"You really are a curious individual aren't you? Well, I'm not really that knowledgeable about that topic so I will try to explain it according to my own understanding. The current Demon Lord as you see is not a mere Demon Lord at all. She is a succubus, the true succubus. Under her influence and power, the monsters that are under her grasp had changed to what they are now. They become females, basically." Yusa explained.

"Oh… so that's why." Snare-oh folded his arms while his other hand was holding the lower part of his headwear.

"I don't think it's a bad idea though." Yusa suddenly said.

"How is it not a bad idea?" Snare-oh asked.

"Well, both prospers right? I mean look at us here in Zipangu! No fight, no war, no bloodshed and no tears to waste." Yusa replied, putting a little joy in her tone.

"Oh?" Snare-oh uttered. Well, at least it was better than he expected.

Both jerked as there was sudden call from outside of the house.

"Huh, I think it's your friend, the snake woman." The mummy said, facing at the direction of the gate.

"No…" The Oni shook her head.

"She and her husband are out of town and they will be gone for weeks." Yusa clarified.

"Then who could it be?" The mummy wondered.

**XXX**

**(Outside of Yusa's house…)**

"Hello! Is anyone there!? It's me Akko, Yusa!" The red Oni called out, along with her is the Kunoichi, Kohana.

Whilst the red Oni is calling the owner of the house, the Kunoichi beside her huffed as she fold her arms clearly being impatient this time. This was not her usual attitude at all. As Kunoichi, she was trained to be patient in hunting preys.

However, this time was different as she could feel the presence of the exotic mana in the house of the Blue Oni. It only meant one thing, the mummy was inside of the house. Out of nowhere, an idea came up to her.

"Akko, I need you to distract Yusa for a while." She told the red Oni.

"Eh? What are you up to?" She turned her eyes on the house.

Akko get what she meant.

"The anomaly is in there…" She concluded.

"I'll try to sneak in." Kohana then leaped to the roof just in time when the shoji opened, revealing to be the owner of the house, no other than a certain Blue Oni, Yusa herself.

Akko waved at her, trying her best to act innocently to avoid any suspicion as the Blue Oni approached the gate to open it.

"Hey, there! I just drop by to check on you." Akko greeted her.

"He-hello…" Yusa greeted back.

"You seems scared? Don't worry I'm just here to ask some few questions."

"I'm no-not scared. I'm just strained from yesterday, that's all." Akko knew she was lying on that part.

"Well, let us begin then so you can rest afterward. This will be short, I assured." The Red Oni smiled at the Yusa.

"Okay…" Yusa complied.

"Alright then!"

While Akko is distracting the Blue Oni.

Kohana had successfully snuck inside the house without any interference at all through the back shoji that was unlocked. She silently stalked inside while eyeing warily on her surroundings. She know how tricky the mummy was so she should not let her guard down.

The house was simple as she expected and it had very few objects inside. There were utensils and other stuffs in the kitchen. The living room was almost pretty empty as there were only limited number of stuffs in there. A pot lying on an irori and a table just beside it.

Kohana then quickly shifted her gaze on a particular shoji. There was no mistaking it. She could sense the mummy's mana behind it. Readying her blade, she opened the shoji and quickly raised the blade she was carrying up to defend herself, just in case the mummy will act in hostility again.

It turned out that it was just an empty room that had another shoji inside it. She stepped inside, gaze shifting from left to right and up and down, making sure that she would not fall into a trap.

She approached the shoji inside the room quietly, blade was still ready in her hand. Kohana breathed deeply and opened the shoji, however the mummy was not inside, much into her disappointment. The only things she found were pillows, blankets etc. This was where she sensed the mana coming from. But the moment she opened it, the exotic mana that she was following was suddenly gone as if it just simply popped like a bubble.

'_How did it just disappear?!' _She was infuriated.

Unknowingly, a spectral being appeared from the floor behind her. Its lone eyes, peeking from cracks of its pale, grey skin stared at her cautiously, not trying to attract her attention. Slowly, the spectral creature tried to move away from her, eyes still fixed on the intruder. The Kunoichi, as if sensing someone was looking, instinctively turned her head behind. The creature paused for a moment and waited for the next move of the intruder. However, the Kunoichi simply walked pass the creature and headed straight to exit the room.

She silently closed the shoji and examined the living room for any sign of the mummy. Unfortunately, there was none much to her disappointment. Even a piece of its bandages that would prove that the anomaly was here recently. But she quickly dropped that as she knew that the mummy, possibly, had been living in this house already before their encounter it. So any evidence that the mummy was here would be fruitless. She doesn't know how long, but she knew it was all useless at the end.

There was an intriguing part per se however. The mana signature that she felt just lately was in this house. None from the neighborhood had that kind of mana as far she could tell. This only meant one thing. The mummy was here before or just recently. She believed that the anomaly was here a while ago. She was not wrong. She cannot be wrong.

'_How odd…' _She whispered.

The Kunoichi suddenly heard a footstep heading to the front door. Swiftly, she bolted as fast as she could soundlessly to the back door.

The shoji slid open and the blue Oni came inside, holding her grumbling stomach.

"Ugh, it's finally done!" She proclaimed as she continued.

"Damn, I'm really hungry. Need to cook now." Yusa head to the kitchen and quickly grabbed the knife hanging to counter.

She stopped for a moment and dropped the knife before heading back to the living room. Not being satisfied, she checked every room of her house to find the mummy, but 'she'… he was nowhere to be seen.

"Did he just fled?" She muttered.

"No I didn't." A ghastly voice suddenly spoke behind her, causing her to jolt out of surprise.

"By the Gods. I swear you almost killed…me… with… huh?" She halted as she stared behind her where the voice just originated. There was no one behind her all along.

"Hey, where are you, Snare-oh?!" Yusa asked and started to look in every direction.

"I'm here, right beside you." The ghastly voice spoke again, this time causing a chill to her spine.

Yusa gulped at the voice as she spoke.

"Uhm, where exactly? And why your voice is different?" Yusa questioned, completely terrified.

"I already answered your question… As for the voice well it's complicated…" The ghastly voice replied.

"Oh… but why I cannot see you then?"

"It's for your own good, Yusa. Trust me, you wouldn't like seeing me like this." The creature explained.

"O-okay?" Just what on the world her friend really was?

First, he was a mummy then he claimed to be the insectoid creature named Eatle. That was as far as she could remember after Kohana asked for its name. And now, he was a creature who cannot be seen and must not been seen for some reason. The scary part of it was the voice and the harrowing warning he gave to her. The mere presence of the imperceptible creature was really different as if she could feel a malevolent force lingering around her, a sheer sinister one at that.

"There is something you also need to know, Yusa. While you were talking with someone outside, there was an intruder that had entered your house." The unseen creature told her.

Yusa's eyes went wide and narrowed after the creature said that.

"So who it is? Have seen the face of the person?" Yusa's face turned serious.

How dare that person enter her house without her consent!

"It was the ninja woman, a Kunoichi, I think?"

"Kohana…" Yusa said.

"Yes, it was her." The creature affirmed.

"How dare her…" Yusa was stopped from her sentence when she suddenly felt chill.

She kneeled and grabbed her body, holding it from the sheer coldness that she just felt.

"Wha-what was that?!" She demanded to the unseen creature.

"Sorry, I did not mean to." The creature quickly apologized.

"Ple-please, do-don't do that again, okay?" She stuttered as she shivered.

"Okay… Just stay here. I don't want you to be in this trouble. I'll go follow them on my own."

"Akko was not alone…" The blue Oni muttered.

"Akko? Wait the Red woman with a giant club and heavily clad in armor?"

"Yes, that was her. She just departed recently."

"So it was her who called you just now…" Yusa nodded.

"Good, I can still catch up on her then. Just stay put, okay? I will return back as soon as possible." The unseen creature then phased through the ceiling unbeknownst to her.

"Wait, what are you planning to do?" She asked as she stood up.

However, there was no reply came back to her. It seemed that the creature had already left her.

Yusa breathed deeply and fixed herself. She wondered what her peculiar friend was going to do after following those warriors. She just hoped for her friend to act accordingly, otherwise it would his demise. He was just new to this world and now his planning on following and probably facing those people again damn it. The blue Oni wanted help him, but there was nothing she can do as she knew that she was powerless against those people. The best thing she could do for now was to wait and trust that her friend will return.

**XXX**

**(With the Red Oni and the Kunoichi…)**

The two was casually walking along the street just like the people around them despite the heat of the sun that was touching their skin. Kohana, despite all of the people around her, was not letting her guard down unlike her other companions who was slacking off.

"Relax for a bit, Kohana. I'm sure the undead is out there somewhere." The Red Oni told her while looking around as they walk.

"I cannot, Akko. For every seconds we waste, the more our mission become hectic. Relaxing will not help. I must always be prepared otherwise I would just going to be a prey." Kohana explained to her firmly.

"Damn… You and Onashi are like twins you know? So pessimistic and strict in doing a task. Can you guys not take it seriously? You know it would really help though."

"I'm afraid cannot do that. Taking our duty lightly will be our doom. So I must act thoroughly" Kohana said to her.

"Now c'mon. Don't be like that. Being stress all the time will not yield anything good. You will just make yourself and your duty worse." The Kunoichi took her friend's words.

"I will take it as an advisement." Kohana replied.

"That's better! C'mon let's just check something else here!" The Red Oni then dragged her friend.

Kohana could only do was to sigh at her friend's behavior.

The two continued walking, heading to the direction of their current headquarter whilst checking something else in the town. Unbeknownst to them however, a ghastly figure was already following them in broad daylight. Even the mamonos in the town didn't noticed the creature floating up from the ground.

**XXX**

_To be continued…_


	7. Chapter 7

**_Ben 10 and MGE belong to their rightful owners._**

**_XXX_**

**_Affairs_**

**(Yusa's house…)**

Yusa was currently cleaning on her own after the incident that her friend had just told her. Apparently, the Kunoichi, who she just met yesterday, had broken to her house without her knowing it. She only learned about it thanks to her… him. She breathed out as she remembered that her friend wasn't a female. It will take a while before she will get used to it. So for the time being, she will try her best to refer to Snare-Oh as he.

Though she don't think Snare-oh would insist, but that was more appropriate rather than just calling him by that, it, or a thing. However, most people would likely to call him just that. But, it seemed therewere terms that were also being referred to him. She remembered when they call him a monster and an anomaly.

Maybe, she will accept the label to him as he was indeed an anomaly to them, but the label monster? That was not what she wanted her friend to be referred to. Snare-Oh was far from what she and everyone thought about him. Now that he was able to talk and understand their language, for some reason, he was able to express himself to her properly.

She felt somewhat bad as she judged Snare-Oh without giving him a chance. She remembered how she straight-out head to the mummy, grabbed him by his body, and tossed him out of the ship. Still annoyed by the despicable deed she had done, she let out a groaned and a deep sighed.

"I should start cooking." She said to herself.

While readying the ingredients, she let her mind wonder until it drifted on a certain subject, about why they refer Snare-Oh as an anomaly. The thought was nothing special or peculiar however, but that did not stop her to wonder. Why they called Snare-Oh as an anomaly? The monster part was self-explanatory and completely understandable due to the mummy's form. What she doesn't understand was the anomaly part.

What made Snare-Oh an anomaly beside him being an outsider, not only to this town only, but to the world itself?

They said that Snare-oh had an exotic mana that was similar yet different from them. Being a simple Oni, she was unable to sense any peculiarity with Snare-oh's mana unlike the Kunoichi. Well, it's not like she can feel mana in the first-place though. Other than that, what about the origin Snare-oh had told her about himself?

A being that came from the stars, according to him. This raised some questions about the true nature of her friend and his origins. If it was true that he came from beyond the stars, which she considered as an absurd idea, then everything they know will either change the view of the current reality they were in or make the already established knowledge more complicated.

Death, heaven, mana, Gods, and other things she consider mystical in nature will not going to be the same. What of the Gods however? Surely, they will already have the knowledge about this kind of things. They were above them mortals anyways, so the answers were possibly lying within them. But, who knew since the only people she knew who can, somewhat, contact them were the Heroes, Priests and Warriors of the Order.

As for the forces of the Demon Lord… She wasn't sure about them except for… well the Demon Lord herself, and her husband were obvious already since they had faced the Chief God herself, but that was different kind of contact since they faced each other to fight.

Unfortunately for the Order, their Chief God had defeated in the battle. Well, what would you expect of the outcome if you were to fight the strongest monster and the strongest hero of humanity, right? The moment the greatest hero sided with the Demon Lord that was the moment where fate had concluded the outcome of the battle before it even had begun.

Yusa wasn't sure if that was the real case since she was just told by the people around her. Even her parents had told her the same story long time ago when she was little. The story itself doesn't change to some few individual as it remained consistent throughout the years. Sure the stories somewhat varied from one after another, but the premise still remained the same.

Back with Snare-Oh again. Now she wondered, how will the Demon Lord act if she learned the existence of her friend? Such being would likely to draw curious individuals. Sabbath surely, but she isn't certain about it. Most likely they will think of Snare-Oh as an undead with peculiar nature. And, the most notable part were his glowing eyes, hollowed body and the ability to control his bandages.

But, how about his other form? The form that easily defeated a group of well-trained warriors through sheer strength. Eatle was its name, or so what Snare-Oh called him as himself since it was his other form. She groaned. This was really a confusing circumstances so she will just simply refer to his other form as Eatle. She don't know if that was its species name or something he simply came up with. Either way, she will not pry more about it.

Anyways… that form of him will likely to draw some unnecessary attentions. The Order, she don't know about them as they will simply perceive it as a monster like the other mamonos, very typical to them, and will likely, no… they will guarantee its death and will consider it as a monster from the past. The Forces of the Demon Lord will be the intriguing one for sure.

She can already predict the various reactions they will have if they found out about her friend's other form. They will perceive it as an abomination, though that was too much, but that was highly unlikely since that form doesn't fit to be one. They would probably consider it as the true monster, maybe? Who would not take it as one at first glance though?

The creature was very intimidating in nature. The bizarre body physiques it had and its capabilities will bring terror upon those who will dare to fight against it. She sighed at the poor souls whom will be dumb enough to do that in the future.

"Damn, all of these happenings around me is making my head hurts." She exasperated.

Yusa did not expect something like this to happen in her entire life. She was living a normal life until that _glorious_ day arrived. Yes, she was referring to the deed that she had done that somewhat made her entwined her fate to her friend, Snare-Oh. Now she was caught in between.

"I hope everything will become normal again. And, I hope that Snare-Oh will not do something stupid or anything like that." And so wished she never thought…

There's a remaining though that suddenly came up in her mind.

"What the hell is an alien, anyway?"

While she was wondering, her friend however…

**XXX**

**(Somewhere in the forest…)**

"Stop with this fucking hide and seek! I swear, you're already giving me the creeps!" Akko screamed in indignation.

"Hmph, as if your scream will draw it out though. You will just look like a lunatic." Aisa mocked.

"Shut up, you bitch! I'm not talking to you!" The angry Oni rebutted.

"Who are you calling, bitch?!" The Jorougumo flared from her harsh word.

"Can you two be quiet?!" Onashi scolded that two.

The grip of her hands tightened as she tensed up. Her eyes darting back and forth, warily eyeing their surroundings. She was ready to attack if the enemy will show up. As a warrior she tried to focus where her enemy would be. But much to her dismay, all she can feel was the lingering terror around their temporary headquarter.

The feeling she had isn't right. It was not really right. This abnormal sensation was so… new to her. She had never experienced fighting an enemy that could hide its full presence from her. She tried and tried, but all she could muster was the will… The will to flee from where she was right now.

Her will and instinct seemed to be in a harmonious sync as both were saying the same, but not in the way she wanted them to be. They were both telling her to flee from the place as soon as possible.

She let out a groaned in disappointment as to why her body was acting differently. It pained her as much as a warrior. How could her fortitude, after all of the years of training and fighting, reduced into a primal state of fear. She knew that she was better than this. If her body won't listen, then she would just force it herself.

A prey against a predator… Usually, she would be the one to play as the role of predator, but now? The role was reversed. She and her colleagues were the prey of a predator. A predator that cannot be seen or sensed.

"I told you… I just want to talk this out. Why all of you won't listen?!" That brought chills to her even to her colleagues. How funny for an undead to feel dread.

"For fuck sake!" The Oni yelled out of fear, beads of sweats rolling down from her head.

"O-onashi-san, w-what are we facing right now?" Kuni asked the undead samurai.

"I-I don't know…" She admitted to Kuni as much as she hate it.

"We are facing a foe that can completely conceal its presence from us…" Kohana stated as she tried to compose herself from the deteriorating situation they were in.

That was very uncalled for as what Onashi thought… For no mamonos or humans can completely conceal themselves from them. Even the undeads possessed mana as it was the general rule of their world, permitting the existence of all living beings whether they were mamonos or not. This person just defy that rule by simply existing without any trace of mana.

"This person…" She couldn't utter the right word.

The person might be using some sort of medium to project their voice. That would simply solve their problem if not for the lack of any mana casted to that medium. She also brought down the idea of telepathy as the origin voice can freely move around their base.

Kohana might not be a full magical individual, but her heritage and couple of trainings had allowed her to sharpen her senses to detect the mana of an individual. Same goes for Akui. For the Kamaitachi, they were self-explanatory. That also was the same case for the Nekomata… somehow? She hadn't moved little from her place and seemed to be still in a trance.

Out of everyone inside their quarter, Suzako was the only mamono who had been acting strange since after the arrival of the two, Kohana and Akko.

"Onashi, Please heed my warning for once… Stand down!" Kohana insisted to her. The undead samurai looked to their teammates face and saw that they were actually considering the words of the Kunoichi this time.

Onashi grunted at this. "How did it end up to this?"

**XXX**

**_(Earlier…)_**

The Kunoichi and the Red Oni were traversing the road that was heading towards the forest. That was their initial destination until one of them decided to have a little detour for a jaunt. Clearly, the Red Oni had been bored from throughout their mission and so she wanted take a little trip in the town. Tagging her friend along, Akko strolled through the town, checking and looking around.

The town may not be big nor it's also small, but it was just the right size. Houses were not that congregated as they had spaces in between and only divided by the walls and fences. There were also some food stores and stalls that cook and serve different variety of foods.

But, what mostly caught Akko's attention was the Ramen shop that serve Ramen with Seafood add-ons as their specialty.

The said shop was near on a playground. As Akko was drooling, her friend, Kohana, staring consciously at the playground. It was not because of fear for any danger, but a fear for a certain child that was playing with the white blue child wearing a white kimono. In addition, the white child had a hair that was white as well, giving her a snowy appearance.

As far as she could recall, there were certain species of mamonos who will intently transform themselves into a child to lure a male by showing him her innocence or blatantly, for sexual matters. That or either for simple fetishes they had which was also for the kind of matter. However, that was not the case with this one. As she watched them, she etched the face of the male kid and the face of the little _girl._

She could tell so far that they were playing just fine. The _girl _wasn't showing any malicious intent nor any desire to take the child. But still, it will be her undoing if the child goes missing. Her conscience will take it lightly.

She was dragged back from her deep thought by her friend who called her.

"Hey, Kohana! C'mon, where are you dazing at?" Akko then looked at the direction where her friend looking at and saw few children playing in the playground

What particularly caught her attention was the one with the white hair and white houmongi kimono who was playing with a boy, wearing a brown haori and hakama, and had a black scruffy hair that was partially covering his eyes. That's where her friend looking at as she also knew this mamono was no mere child at all.

"That kid in white will surely cause some trouble in the near future…" Akko told Kohana as she patted her left shoulder.

"Indeed… I hope for the best to the boy. He will likely to be forced to marry that little girl." Kohana said with a frown to her face.

"I don't see any problem with that though." The Red Oni shrugged.

"Unless he falls for the girl. I want to believe that chance. However, what if the boy fall for someone else? What if the boy is willing to stick with one woman?" Akko rolled an eye.

"Can you quit it already, Kohana? It's not like she will force herself onto him. Besides, they have a gentle disposition compare to their… other cousin."

"You know this mamono in particular is possessive one, haven't you encounter them in past?" Akko awkwardly scratched her cheek.

"Uh, yeah, I know… kind of?" She replied sheepishly.

"How about this, after returning to our colleagues, we can set a plan for the boy's future just in case. This town would likely to be affected too and suffer. Though, I doubt we are still the warriors who will handle of it course. Probably the new warriors will." Suggested Akko.

"My, that was the most responsible thing I have ever heard of you…" Said Kohana.

"Huh, what do mean by that?!" Akko took as a mockery of her.

"Pardon, I was just jesting…" She excused.

"Well, that was not a good jest though!"

"Anyways, let's try this shop's cuisine. I've heard that their specialty are seafood! Plus, I'm also planning on going on a tavern after. They say that their sakes are good and there are some young single fishermen out there~! Ow!" Kohana had hit her in the back of the head.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Akko. We still have a mission to finish." Kohana reminded her.

"Okay… ma'am…" Replied Akko flatly to her.

"Good, now since we are here, I've been feeling hungry, let's go and try the food of this shop." Kohana said as she walk inside of the shop. Akko followed her after.

Little did they know, the spectral creature was still behind them, following their every movement. And as the two head inside, the creature attention's turned to playground, eyeing specifically to the two particular kids, the boy with brown clothing and the girl with snow-themed kimono.

He had overheard their conversation. How can a little girl, like her, will become such a threat to the boy and to this town in the future? This irritated him as he still didn't had much information about the world other than what Yusa had already told him. Oh whelp, it's not like he will stay longer from this world. Besides, it seemed they were expert on what they were dealing with anyways.

However, before that, he needed to deal with the issues the mamonos had with him. Why were they so bent in killing him? Too bad he wasn't able to ask them yesterday because of the crowds that were watching them.

Now time to continue the plan…

**XXX**

"Here are your orders, beautiful ladies!" The chef placed two bowls in front of the two mamonos.

"Oh hush, no need for the compliment, sir!" Akko replied to the chef.

"I am just stating facts ma'am. And please, just refer to me as mister instead of sir. Makes me feel old." The chef joked.

"Well, if that's what you say, mister." Akko then dug in to her bowl.

While the Oni was busy eating, Kohana was feeling uncomfortable. The kunoichi had sensed an… odd lingering aura of that kind from the surrounding. She can't pinpoint where it was as the said odd aura seemed be like everywhere near them. Her instinct had been ringing, but she can't feel anything in particular somehow other than utter dread.

Strange, really strange. The sensation was different yet familiar. It felt like she was being followed. However, she swore that if someone tried to, she would be able to tell where the stalker's location was. Looking at her friend, who was busy eating her meal, she wondered if she also felt the same.

This sensation had been pestering her mind for quite a while now. She tried to eat peacefully, but her hands were moving on their own and towards to her weapon. A quirk she had acquired during her trainings and missions. Usually, she let her body follow her instinct as it was proven from time and time again that it was very effective. It had saved her numerous times during dire situations.

"Akko…" She called nervously albeit not showing it.

"Hmmm?" The Oni swallowed first before speaking.

"Yeah? What's up?" She asked.

"I don't feel well…" Kohana said to her, feeling terrified at the moment.

"We need to go… Hurry up and finish your food!" She told her.

"Okay, okay!" Akko hastened her move.

The duo immediately leave after they were done eating.

Akko who was annoyed because she hadn't savour much of the food, questioned her friend.

"Now, what's the problem this time, Kohana?"

"I think we are in danger…" She told her as she scan her surroundings.

"Really? There's like bunch of mamonos out here right now, who would be dumb enough to even attack us on spot?" Akko was skeptical.

"Eatle might… No, he will if he wants to." Akko cringed at the name of the creature that singlehandedly defeated their colleagues.

"We need to head back." Kohana told her.

"Alright…" That was Akko could reply.

**XXX**

Almost an hour later, they had reached their quarter that was located not too deep in the forest. It was an abandoned house that was now partially covered with plants, a clear indication that nature had already taken over it and no one had been living in their for a long time. Albeit it was inside the forest, it was not far from the town.

The house was currently being occupied by mamonos. The Ochimusha personally preferred this house rather than the ones in the town because it was secluded. A perfect place where they could retreat and regain their strengths without any threat of being attacked soon. Though there was still chance that would happen anytime, but quite smaller.

The undead samurai was currently cleaning her sword. After her sword was cleansed, she picked up a whetstone on her bag and started sharpening her sword with it. As she was doing this, she stared at her colleagues who were now finally recovering from their encounter yesterday. The Kamaitachi were helping their friend, Hino, by serving her with foods and medicines.

The Jorougumo and the Kunoichi, Akui, meanwhile, were busy sparring with each other. With their skills honed through the many years of training and mission, the fruit of their labor had finally shown. The reflex, power and control they were showing in their sparring was very impressive to say the least. It seemed that they grew up very well. Akui relied in evasive and quick strike while Aisa relied more on direct assault and aggressive strikes.

The colliding of their blades was also worth noting as it showed the power and strength they had. For every time they strike one another, it created a spark that exhibited the wielder's might. After all, a weapon was only deadly if the person who was using it was an expert.

'_Their skills are astonishing. They truly have a talent. No sooner, they will excel mine…' _She made a small smile.

Then there was sudden knock on the shoji and at the same time, the sleeping Nekomata had awoken from her deep slumber, eyes are widely open. Onashi took this behavior of hers as she called Aisa to open the shoji. The two mamono had stopped on their sparing and went off on their own.

Akui took a glance to the undead samurai. Her eyes narrowed as she saw how the Ochimusha gripped her katana on her right hand. She clicked a tongue to capture the attention of the three kamaitachi. The three quickly get what she was emphasizing.

She then shifted her attention towards the shoji as she draw blade slightly out of its sheath. They all prepared themselves for any attack.

"Hey, open up!" That eased their tension as they recognize who voice it was.

"It's Akko…" Onashi said.

The Jorougumo opened the shoji and it revealed that it was really Akko, and the kunoichi, Kohana.

The Ochimusha sheathed her katana back and spoke.

"So… have you gathered any information?" She inquired.

"Not much, but apparently Kohana have that would be a little useful." Akko answered as they head inside.

"I have gathered one, but I do not know how I will proceed with it." Kohana denoted.

"It is better than nothing so tell us what it is about."

"It was about the creature that you fought yesterday…" Onashi leaned closer from where she sat.

"I have sensed the creature's unique mana signature on the house of the Blue Oni. I have told Akko to distract her while I sneak into the house. I was so close on locating the creature's hiding spot. However, when I thought that I had finally found its hiding spot, the mana that I had sensed from it suddenly disappeared, and along with it, the creature…" Kohana informed as she sat down floor, completely tired from their duty.

"Then what made you to return this early? You, for the most part, do not return this early in our mission when the information that you had gathered was not enough. So what made you do it?" Onashi questioned.

Kohana took a deep breathe.

"I feel we are in danger so I've decided we return immediately…" Kohana answered.

"Wouldn't that be quite a foolish to do?" Aisa spoke suddenly.

"I mean if you have a feeling that you are in danger maybe someone indeed was threatening you… somehow. And that someone would likely to follow you here." She added.

"I don't know… but I swear, I did not notice anything wrong other than my mind pestering me with such thought. I did not sense any mana from a possible suspect either." Kohana tried to explain.

"What about you, Akko?" Onashi asked the red brute.

"Don't ask me, I haven't sense anything in particular." Akko shrugged.

"How about we ask Suzako? Maybe she has an idea on what is going on?" Kuni suggested.

"Well, if she will respond…" Akui muttered.

This slightly caught their attention as they turned their head as one.

"Eh, what do you mean?" The red raised a brow.

"Look at her state…" The Kunoichi pointed at the Nekomata.

Truth to be told, they don't know if the Nekomata will respond after seeing her in such transfixed state. She was not giving any expression nor any movements at all. Her eyes were still fixed on the entrance as if she was staring on something or someone.

"The hell is her problem?" Akko approached the Nekomata to give her a poke. The result was something she didn't expect as she received a scratch to her left hand.

"Ow! What gives a…" The Nekomata hissed as all of the windows and shoji suddenly shut close, trapping them inside of the house completely as the result.

"Shit, what the hell is happening?!" Aisa shouted.

Onashi and the rest of her colleagues drew their weapons.

"Chill… don't be so _freaked_ out…" A raspy voice spoke.

**XXX**

**(Present…)**

"I hope you will not try to escape for the third time…" The voice warned the weasel woman, specifically to Hino.

Her friends then approached the newly recovered Kamaitachi to aid her when she failed to escape from the house to call for backup.

The house was a real mess now after an invisible force started thrashing around just to get the Kamaitachi.

"Said by the coward who do not want to show their face." Onashi said to the imperceptible intruder.

"Oh? But I'm not actually hiding my face, your friend catgirl there seems to be following me with her gaze." The Ochimusha took a glance to her other colleague and found out that it was true as she saw the Nekomata staring on certain spot where the person could possibly be.

'_How could I not noticed?!' _She scolded herself.

"Huh, it appears that cats truly have some affinity with the supernatural world…" The voice said.

It sounded like the person was also fascinated by this fact. In addition, 'supernatural?' So it means they were not dealing with a mere person at all. This individual probably had some kind of magic or anything related to that stuff. But, that still doesn't answer how this person was capable of hiding their presence on them.

"Can you really see the person, Suzako?" Kohana tried asking the Nekomata if she will answer.

"Ye-yes…" Into her surprise she answered.

"Since you can recognize them, can you describe what they look like?" Suzako's face grimaced.

"Like a ghost… but hideous… and grotesque" She stammered and mumbled the last part

So they were dealing with a ghost all along. Of course, who wouldn't thought about that though?

"A ghost huh? So that's why we cannot see you." Akko smirked, finally knowing what they were dealing with.

"It's a ghost, but I do not sense anything from it. It's like a… blank." Kohana said.

"I do not sense anything either…" The Ochimusha frowned.

"Even ghost should have mana, but this? I feel nothing." She added.

"W-we c-cannot feel its presence other than this dreadful f-feeling we have." Shigo stated frightfully.

"Seriously, guys?" Akko couldn't believe what she is hearing right now. She ranted, but the mamonos ignored her.

"Let us calm down and hear this unperceivable creature speak." Kohana had suggested to the group.

Hopefully, this should work as she had no idea how to deal with a creature that was completely invisible not only into the naked eyes, but also from mana detection. It's quite fascinating how this creature hid its mana well. So well to the point that it's completely hidden from her senses even if she was this close to the creature. It's completely none!

Such remarkable feat if she will able to have and utilize this capability, her reconnaissance and infiltration missions will going to be easy. Though she had master the art of concealing oneself through the shadows, individuals with heightened senses will still able to detect her especially magic users.

Maybe, she can learn that ability for her disposal after the talk with this… ghost.

For now she need to address what this ghost needed.

"You said you need to talk right?" Kohana asked to the mamono.

"Yes… for I have only several questions I need for some clarifications…" Although she had dealt something similar to this mamono, however the way it spoke and the tone of its voice were very… unnatural unlike any other, effortlessly causing this explicable fear within her. She swore that there was no ghost like this one. Even if it was true, she will still not categorize this as a normal ghost, much like the mummy that they had encounter.

"Then go on. Ask us…" Kohana replied to the ghost, not trying to be intimidating as possible to the mamono.

"Sounds like you're very scared right now…" Kohana flinched.

'_So this mamono can sense our fear…' _She said inwardly.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything with you… _If _you will provide me with I want. Deal?"

"Deal." Kohana accepted.

"Are you serious about this, Kohana?" Onashi clearly doesn't like where this was going.

"If this creature wanted us dead in the beginning, it would have initiated it already." She can't rebut that as it was true.

"Now, first things first, why do you try to hunt us down?"

"Pardon?" Kohana asked.

"The monsters that you had fought yesterday? Why did you try to hunt them?"

"I do not wish to hunt them down. I only want to interrogate them." Kohana answered.

"I'm already certain with you, Kohana…" That slightly brought Kohana to the edge.

'_How did this mamono know my name?!' _She screamed mentally.

"I want answer from your other colleagues…" It demanded.

"You want us to know why we hunted them?" Finally, it's Onashi's turn.

"It's because of their heritage!" That did not actually answered his question somehow.

"What heritage?!" The ghost asked.

"They are the monsters of the old, dark days." Onashi continued.

It looked like he will have long talk and probably some history lesson again.

**XXX**

**(Deep in the woods…)**

Two kids from the town had wandered off in forest without realizing they were delving deeper and far from the town. Not minding the danger nor the presence of the any possible wildlife. They ran, and ran, until they reached their limit and stopped. Their naivety and innocence were the things that keeping them pure, but also will be the cause of their suffering from the danger they had never anticipated.

"Yuuta-kun!" The girl wearing a blue houmongi kimono called out to her friend.

She huffed, catching a breath. The little girl grabbed her friend's hand asked him.

"Let's play hide and seek here!" The boy wearing a brown haori and hakama stared at his friend incredulously.

"But Fuyu-chan, I don't like being here! Can we not just play in the town?! It's getting late in the afternoon too." The boy whined.

"They say there are some scary monsters out here." The boy whimpered.

"You parents are just scaring you! Besides, this is where I walk every time I need go home so don't be scared, I know this place!" The girl reassured to the boy as she patted his head.

"You also need to man up! You are big boy now!" She cheered to him.

"O-Okay…" The boy replied.

"And~ your Fuyu Onee-chan will be the it. I'm going to start counting so go hide now!" The boy complied at her.

The girl then went to a tree, and covered her eyes and started counting. The boy hastily looked around, trying to find a good hiding spot. He went on to the bushes after spotting them and hid himself there. Slowly raising his from his hiding spot, he tried to take a peek if his friend was near.

Unbeknownst to him, a silent predator had already set her gaze on him. Without making any sound, the predator slowly approached the little boy. And when she had reached the right range, she shot a web on the boy and quickly pulled him in lightning speed, giving the boy no time to react.

Unfortunately, the boy let out a bloodcurdling-like scream that echoed almost throughout the silence of forest. That did not last long as the boy's abductor quickly shut his mouth.

"Mmph! Mmph!" The boy tried to cry out.

"Oh shush, little boy, for today you will become mine forever~!" The woman said to him and giggled.

He could feel her warm breath, the soft fur on her arms and hands, and her, hard as metal claws. The woman's body is partially covered by her long hair. She wore what seemed to be the skull of a goat that was tied to her waist. She also had a pair of horns on her head. What stand out from her the most were her yellow eyes and dark, greenish skin, etched with black tattoo-like markings that ran across her body and legs.

"Hey! Who are you?!" She heard a voice and turned around.

"Ara~ now I see~" She grinned maliciously at the young mamono who glared at her.

"What are going to do with my future husband!?" The little girl boldly declared.

"Husband?" The woman chuckled at her.

"Not happening…" She shot her web at the girl, pinning her.

"Ow!" She shouted as she dropped hard on the ground.

"How bold of you~" She said sarcastically.

"Too bad you need to find another because this one is mine now~!" She told the girl.

"No! He's my destined one!" She yelled defiantly as tears started to form up from her eyes.

The woman only sneered at her pitiful state while the girl was trying to break free from her webbings.

"Poor little girl. You are still young and your powers are not that strong enough. Do not hope for the web to break soon." She said to the struggling girl and began heading deeper into the woods.

"No! You can't! Comeback! Please!" She begged. Out of her helplessness, she wept from deep woe. She screamed from the top of her lungs, expecting that someone could hear her. But she remembered, they were deep in the forest. No one would probably hear her. So she pray instead, that someone would save her friend.

O how she never knew that her prayers were already answered before she even started it.

**XXX**

**(Back with the group…)**

After hours of exchanging words, Kohana and Akko seemed to be at ease right now compare to their colleagues.

"Fair enough…" The ghost spoke.

"So you are given an order to eliminate us if we are proven to be a threat. Typical soldiers, but that part of eliminating us was quite stupid to be honest. Though I understand it still stupid." The ghost exasperated.

"Moreover, there's still a power struggle going on in this world between the pros and anti-mamonos…" The ghost frowned at this and the mamono who can only see it was Suzako, expression can be seen just by looking to its eye.

"Yes, we are still in war. The Order and The Demon Lord quarrels are still ongoing." Onashi replied.

"That is quite disturbing to hear…" The ghost said.

"Why? Do you and your buddies planning in joining them?" Akko questioned the ghost.

"Yes, if necessary…" The ghost answered her.

Kohana seemed to notice little hint of worries from the ghost's voice despite of its tone.

"Why do you care?" Kohana asked the creature.

"Because we have experienced it. All of us were almost driven into extinction…" The mamonos were taken aback and loss for words. Even Onashi couldn't believe what she was hearing right now.

'_They were almost driven into extinction? All of them?!' _That was indeed disturbing.

"Can I ask something from you?!" They were all brought back from their trance by Suzako.

"What are you? Why do you have no mana? Or are you just good at hiding it?" The question had brought all of attentions of the group.

"My kind lives between the precipice of life and death. So you could technically say that we are both alive and dead at the same time…" The ghost explained.

"As for the mana part, sorry. I do not have any answer for that. Our home system was… odd already." The ghost added.

'_Home system?' _Everyone was wondering what that was, a very vague term.

"Maybe, evolution would answer your questions about me having no mana…"

"Is this evolution you are referring to a person or a phenomenon?" Kohana wanted some clarification.

"A phenomenon of course…" The ghost answered.

"Then how…" Kohana stopped.

All of them jolted up from the faint scream they heard coming from the forest.

"What the hell was that!?" Akko yelled.

"That sounds like a voice of a child." Aisa spoke.

"A child?" The ghost was shocked.

"It appears to be the case, can you let us out now?" Onashi asked the creature, however there was no response.

"The creature had already fled." Suzako told them.

"Then we better go now!" Everyone nodded at Akko and quickly head off.

**XXX**

**(Back with Fuyu…)**

The little girl still sobbing from the loss of her friend. Whilst still bind by the webbing, the girl couldn't stop from having negative thoughts. The sun was already setting down as same as her hope was. She closed her eyes, and she pray and pray that at least someone had heard her and her friend's scream.

"Oh it's you again. Why how pity of you, little child, to be lost in the forest alone." A deep voice that sounded as though it belonged to a noble spoke with a thick accent unfamiliar to her.

The little girl opened her eyes and saw creature the closely resembled to that of a bat. Normally, she wouldn't scared after seeing one as she knew most mamonos don't much join the affairs of others. However, this one gave her an off feeling. And just like that, after staring at the person for a minute, she concluded. This was not a normal mamono.

The creature in black had pale skin beneath the green mask and had a whole set of yellow sharp teeth. It also had a pair of wings under its arm and sharp claws, giving the creature a strong resemblance to that of a werebat while also giving a strong vampiric aura. However, the most notable characteristic this one had was the lack of feminine body and parts.

Yet, she didn't care much to the details and as to why this mamono looked like this at all. She only cared for her friend.

"May I ask who have done this to you, little dear?" The bat creature asked her as it removed the web holding her.

"Uwah!" The girl had completely lost it and burst out to tears.

"Calm down, calm down. Tell me who did this to you so we could make them pay for their bad deeds." The creature requested.

"It-*sobs* it's the bad spider lady! Please, help him! I don't want us to be apart!" She told the creature and cry again.

The bat creature patted her head and spoke.

"Don't worry, I'll bring him back." He promised to the kid.

"What is your name by the way, little dear?"

"My name is Fuyu!"

"And your friend's name?"

"My friend's name is Yuuta. He'd been my childhood friend since we're little." Fuyu told the creature before her.

"I see… For now you need to go back, but first, can you tell me the direction they headed?"

"There…" The girl pointed at the direction of the mountainous valley covered in thick, dense forest.

This will going to be a problem for him. There were too many wild life within the proximity of the town already and also, it's almost night time. Meaning, a lot creatures will going to be active now to search for food.

Although he could see his targets from miles away, this will not help him when he was dealing with a lot of life signatures all active at once. It would, for the lack of better term, confuse the heck out of him.

"Do you have anything that your friend has?" He asked.

"I don't have any." This was really bad. But, he must to save the boy nevertheless.

As if sensing a danger, the bat creature quickly grabbed the girl into his arms and dragged her away, and leaped few meter far from their previous position. A pair of kunai landed, exactly where the bat creature previously stood.

"What kind of insolence is this?!" The bat creature was infuriated.

"Drop the child!" From the shadow of the trees, a lone Kunoichi revealed itself to be no other than Kohana. Her blade was already drawn from the sheath. She carefully examined the opponent before her. So far, there was nothing notable in the creature except for its vampiric appearance.

And unlike the creatures that she had already met, this creature looked more humanoid. However, there was a single thing that disturbed her the most. The creature lacked any mana.

"You have no mana…" Kohana muttered silently.

"What?"

"I said drop the child!" She told the creature before her threateningly.

And the creature did so.

"This is a misunderstanding, miss." The creature spoke.

"You dare harm a child?" It seemed its words didn't reach her.

As she was about to charge at the bat creature before her, the little girl stood in front of the creature, blocking her advance.

"Wait!" She shouted, causing to the Kunoichi to abruptly stop.

"What are you doing, little one?" Kohana asked.

"This bat creature saved me and 'she' said that 'she' will save my friend!" He wanted to face palm after being referred as 'she' again.

"Is it true?" Kohana wanted to doubt as another creature with no mana appeared before her again.

"Indeed, I did also unbind her from the webbings." The creature replied.

She sighed deeply.

'_Where are these sort of creatures coming from?'_ She thought.

"Look, I have no time with you as I clearly have more important task to fulfill and that is saving the other kid. So step aside and let me. Do not make this hard for the both of us." The creature warned her.

Kohana's eyes narrowed from the threat it had given to her.

"Well, then. It's a truce for now." She said to the creature as she hesitantly sheathed her blade back.

"It looks like you are heading to the mountainous valley." The Kunoichi commented as she recomposed herself.

"Yes, how do you know?" The bat creature asked her back.

"That is also where I am going right now." She replied.

"Because, I believe that is where the culprit is heading." She added.

"How do you also know that?"

"Let's just say it is a woman's intuition or in this scenario, a Kunoichi's intuition." Of course, one part of being a Kunoichi was tracking down someone. In this kind mission, they can only rely on pure luck and the information given to them by their employees.

"Alright, then I will scour the sky while you will scour the ground. Farewell, little dear." The bat creature then flew up after bidding a goodbye.

Kohana then turned her attention to the kid.

"Little one, are you alright? What's your name?" She asked worriedly.

"My name is Fuyu and yes I'm alright. Don't mind me right now, save my friend! He was kidnapped by the spider lady!" The little girl sobbed.

'_Spider lady?'_ A clue had given to her by the kid.

"Worry not. We will save your friend for now go back home, okay?"

"But I don't want to! I want to see him first!" Fuyu demanded.

"Then can you go back to the town and wait for us there instead here?" Kohana requested.

"O-okay…" The girl then complied and head back.

Kohana then leaped through the trees to give chase to the culprit.

**XXX**

**(Far deeper into the forest…)**

The abductor of the child was panting heavily from the sheer excitement. Her original plan was to wreak havoc into the town and find the man she want. However, fate had been generous, and seemed to have given her another plan. Instead of wreaking havoc, she instead found a lone, easy-to-get prey.

Although there was probably more worthy men inside of the town aside from the boy, her lust cannot wait more. She need and must fuck a male. She don't care who it was anymore. She need to sate this lust of hers and cure her loneliness.

"Mmph! Mmph!" The boy tried to cry out.

"Shush, my dear. We are still far." She told the boy and licked her lip.

"Do not worry, once we are home, I'm going to eat you whole~!" This actually scared the boy instead of making him excited.

She simply chuckled at the boy innocence.

"Oh dear, I do not mean to eat you like an animal." She wiped his tears.

"How can I explain this? Hmmm." The woman tapped her right cheek.

"Just trust me. When I eat you, you will never forget the sensation~." She said to boy.

The spider mamono continued on her path. She smiled as the forest was getting darker and darker as the sun set down. And when the sun had finally set down, darkness instantly consumed the entire forest. She had nothing to be afraid anymore. Any pursuer who would try to find them will have hard time tracking them down.

It was indeed her lucky day, or she thought.

Unknowingly, a pair of green eyes from the night sky had fixed its gaze on her, watching her from a far and scheming.

The woman suddenly felt a rush of wind from her left after the creature swooped down. Despite the darkness around her, she noticed a blur that came from her left and heading to the sky.

"What the hell?!" Great, another mamono had set their eyes on her prey.

She immediately scurried to the denser part of the forest and set traps for the mamono who was after her prey. Once she was done, she hid herself on a bush together with her prey. There she saw the mamono pestering her, however she could only see her silhouette or she so think. The mamono had a bat-like appearance and a shorter pair of wings under her arms. What was more was that she can't sense any mana from the creature, not a single bit.

'_What the hell is it?'_ She wondered.

The mamono, stopped and looked to be noticing something. It kneeled and flicked the web.

"Damn it, she saw through my web!" She ranted angrily and as silent as she can.

The mamono then flew back to the sky.

She then show herself from her hiding spot, still carrying the boy tightly on her left arm.

"Tch, well, that did not catch her." She grumbled.

"I guess we really have to- owff!" The spider mamono was suddenly struck in the face causing some blood to be splashed on the ground and a single trickle on the boy's face.

And because of this, she accidently dropped her prey down and instantly losing him when the creature who had hit her quickly snatched the boy from her.

"Who dares?!" She fumed lividly.

And there she saw the mamono who tried to snatch the boy recently, unbinding him from her webbings before setting him down and letting the child leaned its back on a tree.

"You!" She pointed accusingly to the mamono.

"You dare try to steal my husband away from me?!" Her seething combined with her lust had almost brought her to the edge, both were reaching their boiling point.

With every inch of self-restraint she had, she demanded to the creature to return her husband.

"Give him back to me!" She ordered furiously.

"I am afraid I cannot do that, m'dear." She was slightly taken aback from the voice of the mamono.

The mamono turned 'her' attention afterwards and spoke again.

"Claiming the boy as your husband without the boy's consent nor from his parents is rather… what should I say… rude so it is a big no for me. You are older and you should know about this." The mamono with bat-like appearance told her.

"Furthermore, this boy appears to be really young, like he seems to be ten I guess? So that that is also a big no for me, m'dear." Her opponent added.

"Fuck you! Like hell I care!" She reposted.

The mamono cringed at the spider lady.

"M'lady, you are truly beautiful in spite of your spider-like form, but your inside is as dark as this forest." The mamono said to her.

"Do you think I give a shit about your praises or lectures?!" The mamono cringed at her again.

"How rude! Well, it matters not anyways." The bat-like creature's eyes narrowed.

"Give me this kid and leave like nothing has happened here. Or follow what you desire and meet your demise. Your choice." The creature made an option for her.

"Fuck off, I will go my own way!" The mamono cringed again for the third time.

"Oh well, it seems my plan of persuading you in choosing the right path of redemption has failed." The bat-like mamono sighed.

The spider mamono did not listen to the bat-like creature and prepared her claws and sharp-as-knife legs.

"Like I said, I don't give a shit so whether you like it or not I will take that boy!" The spider mamono charged at the creature.

"Your choice." The bat-like mamono shrugged as it readied itself from the assault of the spider mamono.

**XXX**

_To be continued…_


	8. Chapter 8

**_Ben 10 and MGE belong to their rightful owners._**

**_XXX_**

**_True Nature_**

Kohona was currently jumping from trees to trees in pursuit of a child that had been abducted by a mamono. Thanks to Fuyu, the Yuki-warashi, her efforts in searching the child would at least lessen. However, that didn't help much to her paranoia, for every seconds that being was wasted, the closer the child to danger was.

How unfortunate and bad timing it was. The child was too far, probably, the forest was getting darker and denser the more she pressed within, and the sun had already set down, further consuming the whole area in darkness. Everything seemed to be against them. Even the rising moon as it crescent form would not be enough to produce light; neither the countless stars themselves could help.

Though she was already used in the darkness, it was still not enough when your enemy was good at hiding from plain sight. She was not dealing with some minor mamonos or humans at all. This one, she hoped for the gods that it was not, could possibly be an Ushi-Oni. A savage, fierce and violent mamono. She doesn't want to believe it, but from the small information the Fuyu gave to her, the mamono was heading to the mountainous valley where numerous caves can be found.

And probably one of these caves was the lair of that mamono, assuming that this mamono lived in a cave of course. If that was the circumstance, however, exploring every cave would be a dangerous task. They don't know what kind of mamonos were living within them. While it's true that mamonos doesn't join the affairs of other, it doesn't mean it was always as it was. There were several cases where aggressive mamonos that were over-protective and possessive tend to attack any person that would come close to them and to their husband, no matter if they were human or mamonos like them.

They will act accordingly if they feel threatened enough. How funny, even after hundreds of years, the same blood still flowed through them. The temptation, the pleasure, the lust, they were so overwhelming that sometimes she lose her mind to them. No matter how hard she suppressed it, the urge was just too strong, it will still crept its way to her, enveloping her mind and sight. It can be remedied, however, but it will never fully sate their body nor their minds.

That was the truth that she can't accept, but it was their reality. This internal conflict of theirs will continue no matter what, as long as the current demon lord was in her throne, leading the mamono-kind. However, it was better that she was the one who was sitting on that throne rather than a different monster, else the peace that they wished for so long would be for naught.

But, the price of the peace was taking a toll of her sometimes. The influence of the demon lord… she had no choice, but just to accept it. For now she must to focus on finding the boy.

She must thoroughly process the little information that had given to her and came up with a plan fast. If the mamono, hopefully not, was an _Ushi-Oni_, she could at least sense the high amount of demonic energy she had. That's it! Ushi-Oni were notorious for having high amount of demonic energy and this one should be the same.

The Kunoichi stopped on a tree and closed her eyes. Then there she felt a subtle amount of demonic energy that stands out the most from the forest. The fleeting sensation was a warning that her target was moving even further deep in the forest. However, the fleeting sensation she had felt somehow stopped? As if the mamono was being blocked by something or someone.

'_Could it be that the bat creature had found her already?'_ She assumed.

Kohana's spirit uplifted before waning down again, paling from the sudden grim realization.

'_By the Gods, I hope that creature had kept the child away before facing the Ushi-Oni.' _She hoped.

"Kohana!" A voice called her from behind.

"Suzako?" She turned her head.

"Kohana!" The Nekomata paused for a moment as she landed beside her.

"Are you heading that way too?" She continued

"Yes, I am." The Kunoichi replied.

"I see, our colleagues are on their way here too." Suzako informed.

"Then we better go now, waiting for them will only waste time." Suzako nodded to the Kunoichi and followed her.

As they were on their way, leaping from trees to trees, Suzako spoke.

"Do you have anything that can help us on the search for the child?"

"Yes, somehow. The little girl I have met recently told me that the abductor is heading into the forest, straight to the mountainous valley. And I am assuming that, if we consider this mamono's behavior, it could be an Ushi-Oni." The Nekomata gasped.

"So, the high amount of Demonic Energy I am sensing could be…" She stopped from line.

"Yes, it could be from an Ushi-Oni. Other mamonos with high demonic energy here in Zipangu does not display this kind of behavior. Although there is a chance that I am wrong, but the plausibility is still high if we consider the circumstances."

"Then why we did not hear any complains that there is an Ushi-Oni from the town?" Suzako asked.

"You already forgot that the voice of the scream came from the forest, Suzako. That only means that she found her prey in the forest. I believe that the child was playing in the forest together with a Yuki-warashi as I met the girl. However, there was a sudden turn of event that had transpired. I presume that she found the boy playing with the girl and instead of finding men in the town, she chose the boy." Kohana guessed.

"Probably, because she knew that it would cause less trouble for her and nobody will know about it other than the girl herself of course. And even if they do find out that the boy was already missing, it will be all too late." She added.

"How clever of the Ushi-Oni for choosing such choice of action, despite being consumed by lust already." Suzako complimented.

"Always remember, never to take them lightly when they are on their mad lust. There are ferocious mamonos and would likely to take down anyone who stands on their way. And oh, do you have one?" She asked.

"I got some in my pouch!" Suzako answered.

"Perfect. Now we need to hurry before it is too late." Suzako agreed and hastened up.

**XXX**

**(With the Ushi-Oni…)**

The spider woman slammed her fist towards the bat creature. The said creature skidded back from the sheer force when it tried to block the oncoming attack with both of its arms. It was then thrown back next by the spider woman by slamming her other fist to it. She rushed fast, giving the creature that stood before her no chance to recover.

When she had cornered the creature on a tree, she proceeded to her relentless strikes. Albeit the creature was easy to trample, the durability of its body was rather… high than she anticipated. That punch should have broken the creature's arms, but here it was still blocking her attacks.

"You are going to get killed if you are just going to block." The Ushi-Oni told the creature. She sent a fist to the side, but it did not react.

"Come on, don't be pathetic!" She taunted angrily.

The creature only smirked at her.

"Pathetic you say?" The creature grinned at her mockingly.

"I have been hit harder than this. Put more weight on it. Heck, my cousin hit harder than you." That had stirred something to the Ushi-Oni.

The creature's smile faded into frown.

"Oh, my word…" The creature quickly ducked as the spider lady swung her claws. Large portion of the tree had taken by that simple swing, almost breaking it into two.

The creature immediately used the opening and kicked the Ushi-Oni hard in the gut that caused her to spit some blood again. The kick had also sent her back a few feet away. Trying to recover from the powerful kick the creature gave her; the Ushi-Oni wiped the blood from her mouth and glared at the creature.

She rubbed the part of her body that had been struck by the annoying creature. She shook her head off and stretched her arms and claws. Raising her claws, she stared at her opponent for a moment.

For a creature that looked frail, this one possessed a ridiculous amount of strength. The kick, even though it looked like an effortless kick, had slightly brought her to the brink of collapsing for how painfully it was. In addition to this, the speed and reflex of the creature had can be par with a Kunoichi's. Then there was the non-existence of the creature's mana that deeply disturbed her the most.

What manner of creature can exist without any mana? And lastly, the creature's overall appearance that this creature clearly lacked, a womanly body. The creature appeared to be a male which was impossible too.

'_Ugh, I don't want to think about it right now!'_ She screamed inwardly as remembered about the boy, her goal.

The lust inside her was building more and more powerful, so powerful to the point that she was starting to slightly lose her mind. Everything seemed to be blacking out. Her body can't take it anymore. The mad lust she has must be sated. She doesn't care if she needed to bring the boy back to her lair. Once she was done with this abnormal creature in front of her, she will fuck him right on the spot.

For now, she must focus and not gave to her lust. It will be a huge mistake if she will let her urge to take the best of her this early.

The spider mamono looked to the boy, resting on a tree just few meters away from them, which had been remaining quiet and unresponsive, a strange behavior from the boy. Something strange was happening to boy somehow as she could feel it, a familiar sensation she knew yet at the same time new to her. She wanted to check if the boy was alright, but the creature in front of her was obstructing her, the pain of dealing with the asshole though.

Fixing her posture up, she leaned forward and rushed the creature without hesitation. She immediately used her left claw and swung it to the creature. The creature ducked before she could even hit. Then quickly, after her first strike had failed, she sent her right claws down, and only to miss again as the creature took a step back.

She tried again, but this time, with both of her claws. However, the creature had foreseen her plan and swiftly took a back flip. The spider mamono quickly followed and leaped right at the creature. The creature meanwhile took this chance and flew straight to her and punched her in the gut, again and before the force could send her flying back, the creature quickly grabbed one leg of her legs and swung her down to the ground, slamming her face. It released her leg and backed off.

The Ushi-Oni stood up quickly and rushed the abnormal creature after she recovered. With all of her might, she let a series of flurry slashes, attempting to do some serious damage to her opponent. The creature meanwhile simply blocked or evaded them. When it had enough of her unrelenting attacks, the creature seized hold of her left claw with its own hand. She decided to retaliate with her other free claw, only to be seized just like her left claw by the creature.

Fighting for dominance, the two did not let go of each other. They instead gripped each other's hands and claws, putting immense pressure and testing each other's limit and strength. The Ushi-Oni tried to crush the hands of the creature, but the creature only reacted slightly and in response to her, the creature did what she was trying to do as well.

Staring at the eyes of the creature, she stared back, and slowly found herself being nauseous for whatever reason. It's like she was losing her grasp of her vision and consciousness. Someone was also speaking inside her head, a faint voice that she couldn't understand. The voice was persuading her in some way.

This lasted for a full minute until eventually, she decided to put an end to whatever the creature was doing and used her front legs, the pedipalps that were used to hold preys. Before she could even raise them, however, the creature kneed her, and in the guts, again.

She howled in pain after receiving such attack from the creature. Her opponent seemed to really like hitting her in that particular area of her body. Suddenly, she felt a sudden rush of viscous liquid from her body. The Ushi-Oni wanted to hold it, but it was unsuccessful and she vomited them.

"I never knew you could resist it well…" The creature spoke as it approached her.

She stared at her opponent, perplexed. It only took her a moment to realize what the creature meant.

'_I understand now, whatever that nausea I had felt is not mere sensation at all. It was the creature's doing. I must avoid direct contact.' _She told to herself.

When the creature got closer, she attempted to backhand it, but was caught by the creature. The creature kicked her on the side then threw her on a tree after, and even farther away from the child, colliding and breaking it. She stood up and was suddenly struck on the side of her face, causing her tumbling down. However, her stamina was still full, meaning she could go another round with the nuisance.

As the creature approached her, she quickly took this moment and shot a web on the creature's feet.

"My turn!" She sneered.

The creature was surprised as it was caught off guard which brought her satisfaction. With the incredible strength she also possessed, she pulled her webs and swung the creature with great speed before flinging the creature to a nearby tree.

"ARGH!" The creature growled in pain.

Having only a moment of chance, she pulled the creature close and began pounding it with her fist. It tried defending itself, but it failed to do so. The creature received multiple, continues attack from the Ushi-Oni. Every time the creature will try to stand, she will pound it back, flat to the ground.

She was not done yet, however, as she begun to pull the creature and swung it with great speed again. The mamono send the creature upward. She pulled the creature back with great force afterwards, sending the creature plummeting down and crashing hard to ground. This created a small shockwave as dust and dirt were thrown in different directions.

The Ushi-Oni slowly approached the creature to take a closer look. She hoped this time that she had taken the creature down for good!

As she got closer, she could hear a mild groaning and whining from the creature, a sign that what she did didn't actually took it down or knock it off unconscious. And as the creature attempted to recover, she shot her web at it, subduing and pinning the creature down. She started her relentless assault again by smacking the creature's head first, then deliver a consecutive blows on it.

After she was done, the Ushi-Oni then stood above the creature that was lying on the ground. Still, she could hear its inaudible groans. Seeing the creature below her crippled yet conscious, she spoke.

"How weak of you~!" She mocked.

The spider mamono leaned lower and closer to take a good look of the creature's current state.

"Is that all you got? My, how sad~. You could have finished this battle of ours, but you choose not to. Now look at yourself." She made a fake gloomy face before turning into a maniacal smile.

"It seems to me that you failed to save the boy!" The creature did not respond as it only gave her an irritating look.

"Please, do not stare at me like that. I promise you, I will take care of my little husband very well~" She licked her lips.

"What are you actually planning to do with the child other than that, may ask I?" The creature questioned.

The mamono giggled at this.

"Simple~" She leaned closer, just inches away from the face of the creature and whispered to it.

"I. Will. Fuck. Him!" Then the mamono let out a derange laugh.

"Yo-you are twisted!" The creature forcefully bellowed at her.

"Living in the forest is quite lonely you see, so I need someone to warm me up~" She let out a giggle.

"I am suffering you know? This wetness inside me has been building up~ And I'm gradually losing my mind right now." She straightened her body up and folded her arms.

"I have no time for this lousy conversation of ours so~ I think it is time for us to go now~. This is the only time I will give a chance for someone to go. Better begone now…" She told the creature balefully.

"You think I would do that and just let you?" Her frontal legs then came closer to the creature's face. This did not sway the creature's will however.

"So you have chosen death then?" Her legs were now dangerously close.

The creature only gave her a cocky grin.

"You have seen what I can do and yet you still choose to defy me?! I can rip you to pieces if I wanted to!" The Ushi-Oni was starting to grow tired.

"Heh, if you can. I think it's time for me to show you all that I can do too!" The mamono's instinct suddenly flared up, but it was too late before she could do anything.

**Boom!**

The creature had suddenly let out an ear-piercing sonic explosion.

The Ushi-Oni was slammed back to a tree, breaking it in the process. A painful moan she let out. She staggered as she tried to stand.

"I did not call myself Whampire for no reason." She heard the creature spoke.

She felt the atmosphere of the creature change.

"It's time to take this kind matter seriously…" The creature glowered at her.

"Oh shit…" The Ushi-Oni grimaced.

**XXX**

**(With Kohana's group…)**

The Kunoichi had successfully rendezvous with her group. Together, they were all heading in the same direction. With Suzako, as the most sensitive mamono amongst them, she led them to where the exact location of the mamono was.

**Boom!**

Whilst on their pursuit, they heard a burst of screeching-like noise as an explosion suddenly occurred in the middle of the forest. The group was shaken for a moment before proceeding again.

"That sounds like it came from a bat or a banshee…" Akui commented.

"It came from a bat. That is self-evident." Kohana replied, gaining the skeptical looked from her colleagues.

"Why do I have a feeling that you already know the person responsible of that explosion?" The Ochimusha stated.

"I have met the creature." Kohana briefly replied.

"We shall concentrate on reaching the child first. You will soon find out." She ensure to them.

**XXX**

**(Back with the Ushi-Oni…)**

"ACK! UH!" The Spider mamono gasped for air as the creature, she had fought, held her up tightly by the throat. She desperately tried to remove the firm grip from her neck, but it was no avail however.

"Ple-please, I-I can't breathe." Whampire dropped her on the ground.

The Ushi-Oni, all covered with scars and bruise on her body, tried to stand. However, the fatigue and weariness had brought her back down. The only thing that was supporting her from completely falling were her hands. She despaired when she stared at her broken legs, especially the two on the front that were completely severed from her.

"This will take time to regrow…" She muttered in woe.

The mamono tried to stand again, but it was still no avail. It seemed that the creature did really took a toll of her. She was tired, she can't fight, and no sooner, she would die here. The inhabitant of the town had probably noticed that the boy was missing and now they were on search for him. She needed to escape now, but her body won't move. In great anguish, she let out her tears from her eyes.

The Ushi-Oni wiped them and took a glance of the creature that defeated her.

She was expecting an angry face, but all she saw instead was a face of person who pitied her state.

"Cease already…" The creature gave her an apologetic look before walking away to check the boy.

The Ushi-Oni pay heed to the creature's word and lie down on the grass-covered ground. She rested her body and let her mind drift away to ease the fear inside her. She couldn't help it. Her impending doom was nigh, and her life was hanging on the creature's fingertips. To ease herself a little, she spoke to the creature for some assurance.

"Wait!" The creature halted.

"What?" It turned its head to look at her.

"Have I not knocked you enough back to your senses already or do you want some more beating?" The creature threatened.

"No, no, ju-just a question." The creature raised a brow.

"A-are y-you going t-to k-kill me?" She stuttered but she tried.

"No…" That was an unexpected response for her, but that did ease her worries down.

"What makes you think that I'm going to kill you?" Whampire questioned back.

"You have the chance and potential to do so, but it appears that you are holding back." She replied.

"Why? It is wrong to not do that vicious deed?" The creature said to her.

"No, but…" She couldn't find the answer to continue.

"It is very simple. I despise killing. I'm here to save people, which include the likes of you." Whampire explained.

"Do you think I am worth saving? I doubt that. I am sure your view of me will change if you were to see me ravaging that boy." She inquired.

"Maybe… but that doesn't mean I need to kill you. I had met people just as worse as you, but still, I need to hold on my own belief." The creature explained cryptically.

"So I need to keep you alive and for you to self-reflect on your actions." Whampire then pressed on to tend the boy.

"T-that's quite f-foolish of you." She let out a smile. No lust, no malice, just pure genuine smile.

It was truly unexpected for creature like this to act so… merciful and noble in heart. Although it sounded as she was exaggerating it, but those simple words had impacted her in some way. It was weird and she don't know just why. In personal view, it was unbefitting for a creature like this to have a kind characteristic. Maybe the sayings were right, like 'Never judge a book by its cover'. There was still a little tinge fear within her however that was forcing her to doubt the creature… what did it called itself again? Ah, Whampire.

Despite the doubt, perhaps there was a hope for her to live through this. However, it was hard to believe it. Maybe she will just try to stand in between that silver lining, so neither will surprise nor hurt her.

Whilst her mind was still filled with lust, her body had given up. O how she wanted to ravage the child already. Well, unfortunately for her, that will not happen anytime soon.

She looked around her and muttered.

"What a mess…" She stated flatly, idly eyeing her surroundings.

The surroundings around them, if not caved with craters, were in complete mess. Many of the trees either lost their trunks or completely cut in two. Many chunks of woods were also lying around and webs all over the place. A clear reminder of what had transpired after the intense fight between the two creatures with incredible strength.

This was what the group of Kohana had witness. They had seen the aftermath, and it was awful. The Ushi-Oni was broken and unable to move. Her legs were crippled; the front legs meanwhile were completely severed from her body, and her body? It had dozens of gnashes, scars and bruises. Her face was less bloody than she expected, surprisingly. Even so, after receiving those injuries, she was still alive and awake. So it seemed Ushi-Oni really had a very resilient body.

However, she disregarded the injuries that the Ushi-Oni had gained from the creature. She was more focused on the front legs. Kohana had many assumptions as to what had happened to her front legs. The most probable cause was that she forced the creature to do this to her, much to her own demise. She had probably triggered the creature by utilizing her front legs as a weapon against her enemy. This will pose danger to the creature and so it decided to remove the legs from her body.

What's most concerning was that those legs doesn't seemed to be sliced; they're more like they were forcibly removed through pulling. She had never seen this kind of brutality. But, it was surprising that the creature had left her alive instead of dead.

"Another creature with no mana?" Suzako dreaded by the idea of another creature having no mana.

"Aisa, Akui." Kohana heard the Ochimusha called her other colleagues.

"Subdue the Ushi-Oni while she is down, use the talisman. We will try to get the kid from another… anomaly." The two nodded at her.

"I suggest to let me handle the situation of the boy, Onashi." Kohana told her.

"And why is that?"

"Trying to intimidate that creature would be a poor choice, so let me handle this one." Kohana explained.

"Fine, but make sure that the boy is safe." The Kunoichi nodded at the Ochimusha's demand.

"Are you certain, Kohana? This creature is an… aberration." Suzako doubted.

"I made a truce with the creature, Suzako. And it seems 'she'… it just want to save the boy." She remembered that this creature was plausibly one of those mamonos whom had broken free from the Demon Lord's influence.

She hoped that the creature was the same as Eatle's good nature. If not, this will cause some serious trouble to them; hence why she chose to volunteer to deal with it. Even if she had already talked with it, she can't be complacent on it.

It was good that the unknown creature had beaten the Ushi-Oni into submission. The risk with dealing such mamono had been averted, thankfully. However, there was still the risk of uncertainty with the unknown creature. And it seemed that they were just right in time as the creature was now attending the boy. Moreover, it appeared that it was not aware of their presence yet, presumably not anticipating their arrival or of the other people.

**XXX**

Whampire kneeled before the boy who was resting on a tree to check on him. The silence of the boy had deeply made him worried. As Whampire leaned closer, he could hear the boy's short breathing and heavy panting. He looked at the child and noticed something different through his infrared vision. He couldn't explain what it was, however he could also sense it.

He slightly tilted his head to the side and brushed the boy's hair up. After raising the boy's hair, he was surprised at what he saw next. The boy in front of him was beat red like he was sick or something. Moreover, the boy's body had grown a little bit. Since when did he grow up? Whampire couldn't remember him being a little bit taller than he remembered.

The said boy stared at him. He was perturbed at the boy's current condition.

Whampire was unsettled with this. The boy's breathing was very unnatural. His behavior and the way he stares at him is disturbing.

"Are you alright, kid? What is happening to you? Why is your breathing like that?" Whampire asked, concerned about the boy.

"I feel so hot~." The boy briefly replied, drool starting leak from his mouth.

He regarded the boy with incredulous stare after hearing him spoke with, he wished was wrong, a lusty tone. That sent shiver to Whampire's skin for some reason. To meet something this so… aroused was very different. He had not even met someone like this back in his home.

"AGH!" He heard the Ushi-Oni screamed.

Whampire had just kept his guard down for moment and now here he was, probably be dealing with these new intruders soon. He immediately turned his head and saw the Ushi-Oni being pinned down by a blade to her left shoulder, embedded by a mamono. Her limbs meanwhile were covered in webs, courtesy by another spider mamono. The two mamonos were very familiar to him. And, not too far behind them were the weasel women. The gazes of those mamonos were not directed to the spider mamono but to him.

"You again, guys?!" He screamed in rage after seeing what they had done to the helpless spider mamono.

"Yes, it is us…" A familiar voice spoke.

Whampire turned his head again, back to the boy and saw Kohana, Onashi and the catgirl named Suzako.

"What the hell are you doing? And you!" He pointed at the Kunoichi accusingly.

"Why did you not stop your colleagues?" Whampire demanded an answer.

"The boy is turning into an incubus…" Kohana answered solemnly, indirect to the creature's question.

"Another poor soul. This one however, is a very young soul." Onashi stated cryptically.

Whampire still don't know what she meant. And this infuriated him again. The clear lack of knowledge of this world was keeping him in the dark from important matters like this. Sure he know what an incubus was, but their kind of incubus was completely different from the incubus he knew, probably.

"I think I know the cause because of this…" Suzako held a piece of cloth stained with blood.

"Where did that blood came from?" Whampire asked.

"From the boy." Said Suzako and pointed at the boy's face.

She then continued.

"It is not exactly from the boy, but from the Ushi-Oni." The Nekomata folded the cloth and hid it to her pouch before proceeding to talk again.

"Ushi-Oni are creatures with immeasurable lust. They are tainted with immense desire. Their thoughts are always filled sexual imagery, all about savagely raping a man. So great in their lust that their body is always hotly seething. No matter how many times they rape a man, they will never be satisfied. In addition to that, their blood is very dangerous to humans as their blood is thick, very rich with demonic energy." Whampire gasped in horror after hearing the last part.

"Demonic Energy?!" He repeated, still in total shock.

"Yes…" Suzako's expression soured.

"Just a drop of blood from an Ushi-Oni and it will soon turn a human into an Incubus. If it is female however, they will turn into an Ushi-Oni. The female's transformations are both external and internal." Suzako then turned to Kohana, leaving the strange creature speechless. The Kunoichi only gave her a sorrowful expression.

'_This is my fault…' _Whampire blamed himself for what happened to the boy.

Recalling the entire past event leading to the fight, he remembered that he hit the Ushi-Oni on the face. Yes, it was because of what he did. If he only knew that the blood was this… corruptive to the soul, he would have improvised another plan.

"Then the retribution and justice that we can give for the boy is to eliminate the creature that caused his downfall." Onashi then unsheathed her katana and pointed at the spider mamono.

**XXX**

Akui pushed the Ushi-Oni's head down to the ground. The spider mamono struggled, but she did her best to try and remove the Kunoichi pestering her. She howled in pain when the Kunoichi started to twist the blade that was still embedded to her left shoulder.

"Do you think we would just let you go after you violated the law of this land and the soul of a young child?" Akui whispered and smiled beneath her mask.

"Your death is right here." She pulled the Ushi-Oni by the hair to make her watch the approaching executioner that will behead her because of her sins.

"No… No… I'm…" She couldn't let out the words as tears started to flow from her eyes.

"The talisman did really work." The Jorougumo commented.

"Of course it does, else this defiler would have rampaged again. Though, I do not know why it is still necessary, because this mamono is dying soon." Akui said to Aisa.

"How fascinating it is. To think I would see such formidable mamono like yourself to cry in despair, the sheer satisfaction of killing you would be immeasurable!" The Ochimusha then began to brandish her katana menacingly.

The undead samurai paused for a moment to look back to the creature that placed the ferocious mamono into submission.

"You have my thanks, warrior, but you are a fool for leaving her alive." She told the creature.

Kohana's face soured after hearing what the Ochimusha just said to the creature. Fortunately, the creature did not respond to her harsh word. However, those words had made the creature silent, probably pondering for a moment somehow. When it's done, the creature stared at her then turned to the Ochimusha and spoke.

"Hold up!" The creature called out to the undead samurai.

Onashi halted and turned to the creature.

"What? If you are going to say anything, make it short, before the barbaric mamono recover." The Ochimusha said firmly to the creature, still in distraught after what had had occurred.

"Is there any way to reverse the state of the child and make him a human again?" It asked the Kohana.

"We can if we are to remove the demonic energy that is already coursing through his body." Instead of the Kunoichi, however, the Nekomata had answered the creature.

Tending the boy and checking his current progress, the Nekomata examined the Demonic Energy currently flowing in the boy's body. Her face had slightly darkened when she saw the young human, drooling over whatever explicit scene he had in his mind right now.

"But it's easier said than done. The thing about Demonic and Spiritual Energy they are like darkness and light. They are the exact opposite of one another." Suzako tried to explain very briefly and simplified.

"Like the Chinese Yin Yang, I see." He whispered, but now low enough to be heard by the two mamonos, Kohana and Suzako. Whampire folded his arms and rubbed his chin.

Unknown to him, his words had gained the curiosity of the two mamono.

"Chinese?" Kohana slightly narrowed her eyes.

Whampire did not noticed the Kunoichi's suspicious stare and continued.

"Now, you have your question answered. Are we done?" The Ochimusha asked, eyes filled with murderous intent.

Whampire was not actually satisfied with the brief explanation. He knew that there was more about this Spiritual and Demonic Energy stuff. In the meantime, he needed to prioritize the boy first.

"Can we remove the Demonic energy from the body of the boy?" The creature asked one more time.

"Hypothetically speaking, there are several ways, depending on the mamonos who monsterize the human. However, in reality? There is no way you can turn back an incubus into a human nor can you reverse the process of the ongoing transformation. I only knew one kind of mamono that is exempted to the rule, but the rest are the same. Demonic energy cannot be simply removed nor can you return the child back into a human." Suzako explained well.

"What if someone tried to absorb it instead?"

"Then it will turn you either into an incubus or into a mamono." Suzako wasn't sure how this creature will turn out to be if it will to absorb demonic energy, but then she remembered what the creature was.

"However, in your case, I don't know since you are an… anomaly. Demonic Energy only interacts with Spiritual Energy and vice versa. You, on the other hand, are blank." Suzako clarified.

"Are they enough?" The Ochimusha was getting impatient.

"Yes, indeed. Thank you for the useful information." The creature smiled and which brought sudden chill to them.

"Also, I would like to say that no will perish tonight." The creature announced.

"What do you mean by it?!" The undead samurai demanded an answer.

"Pardon for what I will do. I just could not simply agree with your method of retribution." The creature replied.

Whampire pushed Kohona away and blasted the Ochimusha with sonic explosion. The Kunoichi collided on a tree with a loud thud, while Onashi was sent skidding down and rolling on the dirt. He then tackled the two other mamono, Aisa and Akui, throwing them away from the Ushi-Oni.

"Bastard! You- Ugh!" Akui did not have the chance to finish her sentence.

Whampire also blasted the two, knocking them out of the equation before turning his attention to the Kamaitachi who had just recovered from the initial shock. He flew and aimed for the one who can control the wind first. The fast one however, tackled him before he could even do it. Learning from the previous encounter with the Kamaitachi, he quickly recalled all of the memories he had with these women. Out of three, there were only two fighters within them, apparently, the one who can move like the wind and the one who can control the wind.

He immediately took a hold of the fast one and threw her at the wind controller before blasting them both, making them unconscious. Kuni was stunned shut, mouth agape at the quick takedown before falling to her knees. Luckily, the creature paid no regard to her and focused his attention to the Nekomata.

Suzako meanwhile, was frightened at what the anomaly did to her colleagues. She stepped back as the creature approached her. She fell on the grass and shield herself with her, but nothing happened. Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw the creature standing in front of the child.

"What are you planning to do with the child?" She asked nervously.

"Do not interfere; I am saving the child…" Whampire then raised the boy and opened his mouth, revealing multiple sharp teeth.

Suzako was horrified and frantically told the creature to stop.

"Wait! No! Don't!" She wanted to move and stop the creature, but her fear had bested her courage. All she can do was to watch the creature bite the child's neck. The child struggled first, but slowly, his consciousness waned and he fell asleep. Having a high affinity with the magic, she sensed the child's mana flowing and coming out his body. This had made her realize what the creature was. It was a vampire, one of the true vampires of the old age where they will suck their victim's life force until they were only but an empty husk. How stupid of them to not realize it earlier.

"You are the worst!" She heard Kohana yelled.

The Kunoichi had regained her strength, though temporarily. Her back still ached after colliding to a tree.

"I should have never trusted you!" She screamed in anger.

Whampire let go of the child and carefully placed him down on a tree. He wiped the blood from his mouth and turned his attention to the Kunoichi.

"The child is clean now…" Whampire told the angry Kunoichi. He stepped back and went to the spider mamono known as Ushi-Oni.

Kohana was puzzled at what the creature meant. Drawing her blade from her sheath, she used it as a cane to support herself. Albeit in pain, she tried to walk and get closer to the child. Suzako stood up and ran to her to aid her.

"Do not mind me, Suzako. Mind the child." Suzako nodded and slowly let go of her to tend the boy.

"Sorry for being rough." The creature apologized to them.

"And I'll be back." Suzako and Kohana saw the creature carrying the now unconscious Ushi-Oni on its back. The creature gave them a last glance before walking toward the trees, completely disappearing from their sight.

And just like that, the creature left them.

**XXX**

_To be continued…_


	9. Chapter 9

**_Ben 10 and MGE belong to their rightful owners._**

**_XXX_**

**_Inconceivable Act_**

Akko was standing just near the entrance of the town, arms folded while her right index finger tapping her left arm. Albeit she wanted to come along with them, her colleagues insisted that she should stay in the town in case they would failed to return early. Whilst waiting for her team to return, she observed the child besides her. She was pacing back and forth while twirling her hair at the same time. The Red Oni knew that she was getting impatient and uneasy as time goes by.

She can't really blame the child though. If she was on her position, she would probably be as anxious as her, although it was her fault in the first place. And, it seemed to her that this little girl was totally love-struck with the boy. Typical attitude of mamonos like her. Well, the fact that the two were childhood friends, adds to the flair of their possible, deep intimate relationship in the future, if they would end up with each other of course. Gosh, she also wished that she had a male childhood friend back when she was young.

'_Unrequited love between two childhood friends, huh. That's not a bad idea at all.' _She stated inwardly.

The Blue Oni couldn't help, but to blush of that idea. Though it was too late since she was an adult now. Perhaps, in the next lifetime if she would be given a chance to, maybe not relive her past, but a new life after death. However, she wasn't sure if the concept of reincarnation was real. So instead she will try to live her life in the fullest and by finding a partner at least. But, like Kohana and Onashi, she too had no lover yet even the _apple of her eye_. She simply let out a whistle of disappointment for herself.

"Damn, I wonder when I will have a man for myself." She muttered, pursing her lips and staring at the sky.

Akko clicked a tongue a when she heard the Yuki-Warashi whined again.

"Why are they taking so long?! I really want to see my Yuuta already!" Fuyu cried out. Her eyes then dilated as she gasped in trepidation.

"What if Yuuta will never come back?! What if he was taken by that spider lady away from me forever?! No, no. Oni onee-san here said that her friends were on the way to return my precious Yuuta to me, so it should be okay, right?! But, what if they are too late?! No, that won't happen. They are warriors! But, what if they encounter the spider lady and they got defeated by her?!" She mumbled frantically.

Akko doesn't really care much about people's opinion, but this kid was already getting her nerve. And, here she thought their kinds were gentle. As she tried to ignore the mumbling, the girl still goes on.

"What's worse is that… could be…" She paused for a moment and stared up, her dilated again under star-filled night sky.

"NOOO! I want to be Yuuta's first! Yuuta! I'm going … Ouch!" She was about to run directly to the forest when felt a knuckle land on her head, stopping her. She diverted her head and cowered as she saw the rather pissed off face of the Red Oni.

"Hey, pipsqueak. Just what are you intending to do, huh? You're making my blood boil already so shut up and wait here if you don't want me to thwack you again! Understood?" Akko scolded the child.

"Okay." Feeling defeated, she obeyed and remain silent.

Akko let out a breath of relief, but her peace will be shaken no sooner by a human couple who looked so concerned and scared. They must be the parents of the boy. This was the worst thing she could had ever imagined since she was not good at… talking. She feared that once she will open her mouth, they would likely to panic. But, she must to address this couple and try to calm them.

'_Shit, I'm not good at comforting people.' _Akko swore to herself.

Averting her gaze at the couple, she stared at the child beside her who seemed to know these people.

"Mister and Miss Yoshimura?" Fuyu recognized the couple, then paled at them.

"Fuyu-chan, have you seen our son, Yuuta? He have not returned to our home yet." The mother of her friend asked while being comforted by her husband, her voice filled with worries and fears.

"Uhm… uh…" The little mamono stammered, unable to answer their question.

"Please, Fuyu-chan. Do you know where our son is?" The mother asked again.

Fuyu, being the one who brought their son into danger, cannot help but to feel shame in front the parent of her childhood friend.

"We have been looking in the town for hours, but we cannot find him anywhere. We tried to ask the folks if they have noticed a young boy wearing a brown haori and hakama, but they said they did not see anyone. We are really worried that a mamono may have taken liking to our son and took him away from us. We hope that is not the case." The mother cannot resist her tears anymore and cried on her husband's shoulder.

"Pardon, for my wife's sudden burst of emotion. We are just really worried." The husband explained while comforting his wife.

Fuyu still could not muster the strength to open her mouth and reveal that their son had been, indeed, taken by a mamono. Downcast, she let her hair overshadowed her eyes for the feeling of regret she had right now. Just like them, she too was worried to her friend's whereabouts and condition. It's been hours since she her lost friend and the mamonos who promised they will return the boy back still hadn't return yet. If only she did not brought him to the forest, then nothing like this would happen.

"I-I'm really sorry, ma'am." The Red Oni beside her spoke.

"But, your son have… uh… lost in the forest. And, now my colleagues are looking for him right now." Though that was false as it was not the true situation they were in, Akko still tried her best to not cause serious emotional damage if they ever find out that their son had actually been taken by a mamono.

"Thank, goodness." The mother breathed in relief a little bit.

They suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from the dark forest. Akko gestured to them to step back as she held her club and took and a fighting stance. In spite that she already expected that it was her colleagues emerging out the dark forest, it still wouldn't hurt to be double sure, just in case. After all, nothing was completely guaranteed in this world, a shift of even may happen anytime.

Narrowing her eyes, Akko leaned her head forward to get a clear view. There in the darkness, she saw a rather a familiar female figure emitting two ethereal energy from her right skeleton arm and from the skull she was wearing below her hips. On her right hand, a scabbard she was being wielded.

"They're finally here!" She notified them.

The first to emerge was the Undead Samurai, Onashi. Next was the Jorougumo, Aisa. Sedulously walking and careful at the same, while also carrying a child on her back, as expected for a diligent warrior such as hers. And, just behind her was Akui, then the Kamaitachi. And lastly, Suzako and Kohona. Despite that they were successful in returning the child to town, the group was rather, moody.

Akko found it odd since as what she can see, they had done their task pretty well and no one seemed to be seriously harmed. Except for the few bruises they had. They even brought the child safe and sound, albeit the child was unconscious, but still. So, why do they look like they were sulking silently?

"Yuuta!" The Parents and Yuki-warashi shouted in unison and joy.

Fuyu immediately ran towards her friend. The parents of the child then followed.

Akko watched the scenery with contentment. She was as happy like them after seeing the child again. However…

"The child would not wake up." Onashi told her silently, before turning her attention to Suzako.

"Suzako, come with me and also you, Aisa." She told the two, then turning her attention back to her and to their remaining colleagues.

"We need to address these pressing matters first. For now, all of you can return and rest." The mamonos nodded at her and they did what she ordered.

Akko was curious as to what actually happened. She wanted to ask them, but her colleagues looked like they were very… tired. Perhaps, tomorrow she can ask and inquire some answers. For now, they needed to rest and regain their strength.

She jerked out of surprise when she heard the parents and the Yuki-warashi cried. Turning her head, she saw Onashi and Suzako trying to probably explain whatever the current situation the child was in right now.

'_Just what the hell happened out there?' _She wondered.

**XXX**

**(The Next Morning…)**

When the group had awoken from their sleep after their previous mission last night, most of them took the initiative to prepare their meals, while the others tried to warm up and remove the stiffness of their body through stretching and a little bit of exercise. Unlike their previous encounter with the bug monster, this was more fortunate. No one had sustained some serious injuries. The only injuries they had, however, were bruises courtesy by another monster they had encounter. Other than that, there was not much else.

And, unlike the previous monster they had encounter other than the mummy, this monster in particular was more familiar. As expected like the creatures they had met before. But, the monster had no mana and should not exist at all much like the spectral being who they had also encountered. While the others were doing their own business, Onashi, Kohana and Suzako chose to discuss important matters like regarding about the incident last night.

"This is getting absurd." Onashi commented.

Out irritation, she begun rubbing her temple to ease her headaches.

"Indeed." Kohana agreed. "First one was the ghost, now the vampire." She recalled those two creature specifically, that defy that laws of their world.

"I would probably let the ghost pass because of its nature, but the vampire? I do not think I would let that kind of creature to roam around." She added.

"But, how can those two exist?! Let alone having no mana at all?!" Suzako complained.

"Their nature is truly intriguing I might say. But, what I fear more are the amount of unnecessary attentions they would likely gather." Onashi paused and mulled over for a moment.

"We should hurry and find a way to subdue them in the meantime until we came up with a solution to address this kind of problem." She told them. "Have Eatle given any impression yet? What do the town's folks think? Are there any rumors circulating around about him and the other monsters, Kohana?" She asked the Kunoichi.

"There are actually, especially to Eatle, but I did not pay more attention on the details. Most of the people I met were all talking about that previous encounter we had with him." Kohana answered.

"So, what do they think of him?" Onashi once again.

"Well, I will make it short. It is bad. Probably because of the destructive tendency he could deliver upon us." As Kohona expected, Eatle indeed made a bad impression to inhabitants of the town.

"Speaking of Eatle, Suzako, you were there when the creature suck the life force of the child. However, before that creature could do any serious harm, it let go of the boy. What did actually happened that time?" It was Kohana's turn now to ask this time.

"The vampire… it saved the child by consuming a portion of his mana. I do not know how it did it, but that is all what the creature tried to do." Suzako answered, albeit sill a bit unsettled because of the strange nature of the creature had.

"Hmm, the creature saved the child by consuming his mana. That is quite… interesting to say the least." Onashi commented, still skeptical about the creature.

"But… I am interested to the end result. What happened to the mana the creature had consumed? Is there any significant changes between the spiritual energy and demonic energy it devoured?" Onashi asked again, becoming more inquisitive.

"Generally speaking, it consumes and devours both. But, what horrified me the most is how the body of the vampire creature reacted to them. It…" Suzako swallowed a lump. "…it completely obliterated both Spiritual and Demonic energy at the same time after they entered the creature's body."

After hearing the Nekomata's account about her close encounter with the creature, she found it very disturbing. This was more alarming than the previous creatures so far as the very existence of this one violated the natural law of their world, and not violated it, the creature can destroy it.

"An abomination in a form of a vampire." She called the creature.

"It is far worse than the creatures we had encounter hitherto." Onashi muttered.

Kohana and Suzako concurred, however, Kohana do not agree with her first statement and spoke.

"And yet, this creature you identified as an abomination had saved the boy's life for better or for worse." Kohana berated her. "I would rather consider it a benevolent being, though despite its clear unsightly appearance it has. However, we should consider the other deeds the creature had done. Remember, it suddenly decided to attack us out of nowhere and saved not only the child, but also the Ushi-Oni."

She then folded her arms and held her chin.

"Do you think there are any ulterior motives behind those actions of the creature?" Suzako asked Kohana.

"I do not know for sure as I do not want to jump into any conclusion yet, unless I have a concrete proof." Kohana answered.

The three of them continued to discuss about how they will properly deal with their current situation. It seemed for them that their mission was getting more complicated than it used to be.

**XXX**

**(Deep Within the Mountains…)**

The Ushi-Oni had awoken from her deep slumber. Yawning after opening her eyes, she immediately grunted when her pain suddenly persisted when she tried to move. Lying down again because of the pain, she examined her current surroundings thoroughly. Checking up herself, she found that there were several bandages wrapped around her body, the most covered part was her left shoulder where the Kunoichi stabbed her. Glancing around, it seemed that she was in a cave. However, the cave appeared to be man-made. She knew it because of how perfectly curved it was, from the smooth surface it had, it was like a perfect arc. But, as far as she could remember, this area of the mountain had not been touched nor explored by humans, maybe it was explored by some mamonos but still.

The path that led to the mountains were quite treacherous. Many disasters would likely fall to those brave humans that will set afoot on this area, either by natural causes or by the hand of the preying mamonos, seeking husband for themselves just like her. Turning her behind and to the source of light, a silhouette of a person or… of a creature can be seen. Just in front of the creature, a small campfire was being lit, and on atop of it, hanging between two sticks, was what seemed to be a meat, pierced by another stick. Furthermore, there was seemed to be another source of light coming from left the corner of the cave. It was probably the exit of the cave she presumed.

After seeing the creature, she suddenly realized that she was being held captive, thanks to the bars that were embedded vertically on the ground and up to the ceiling. However, these bars do not appeared to be mere bars at all. They were made of pale, green crystals in which she hadn't seen the likes before. Being curious, she tried to raise her arms and test how tough this crystals were. If she wanted to escape, she might as well know the limit of their durability. Her pain however, persisted again, bringing her down again. She clicked at tongue out annoyance. Even limply, she insisted herself, but her body was not following her. Out of hope, she gave up. She at least tried to mad herself to sit. For now, she must to recover her strength first.

"You're awake already." A rather raspy cold voice suddenly spoke.

Directing her attention, she looked at the person who was talking to her. The person or… a creature before her had a rather vague appearance. This person or creature, whatever that hell they were, was wearing some kind of blue cloak dyed in black outlines on the edge part. The overall appearance the creature was giving her was a cool atmosphere similar to those mamonos, like the Tsurara-Onna and Yuki-Onna for instance, that resided within the cold regions of their homeland, and it also had phantom-like aura, like the ghosts. Observing even further, she noticed that the fingers and toes of creature were lacking, it only had three set of fingers on its hands and three set of toes on its feet. And the face? She could not discern much as the creature was wearing a hood, partially covering its upper face.

"Good morning, miss. You're just in time for the meals." It greeted her.

The creature simply stared at her from a distance before turning away. She saw it moved to the campfire and picked up the meat that it cooked. It placed it on a piece of wooden board. Staring silently to her captor, she noticed how abundance the mana of the creature had, but its mana was very different from them or from the mana she knew. The creature kneeled in front of her cage and offered the food it had.

"My body still aches, I cannot move my limb really well." She told the creature.

"Oh, I forgot." Replied the creature.

"Now, how are you going to feed me? This cage has no entrance, so you might as well remove those crystals." The Ushi-Oni pointed out.

"Yeah, not happening." The creature muttered.

It pushed the food between the gaps of the crystals before standing up and walking straight through the crystals as if they were not there. The Ushi-Oni was flabbergasted at what the creature did, mouth slightly hanged open from what she had just witnessed.

"Ho-how?" She stuttered.

The creature picked up the board containing the food before speaking to her.

"Intangibility…" It said briefly, causing the Ushi-Oni to frown.

"Only ghosts and spirits could that." The Ushi-Oni rebutted.

"Figures…" The creature shrugged and sat in front of her.

The Ushi-Oni was baffled at what the creature trying to do. Sniffing the air, the smell of the aroma of the food in front of her quickly stream toward her nose. Her stomach growled in anticipation, causing the creature to chuckle at her. She covered her face out of embarrassment. Gods, when did the last time she ate?

"Ohhh, don't be shy, it is just the two of us here, alone. So relish it into your heart's content!" The creature jested.

She puffed her cheeks at the creature's statement.

"Hmph!" She uttered, looking away.

"So… can you move your arms?" It asked her.

"I still cannot, well a little only." The Ushi-Oni showed the creature, and they just dangle frailly.

"Right… It looks like it will take several days for you to fully heal. Anyways, since you can't still move, I'll try to feed you myself then." Said the creature as it began preparing the food.

She did not liked that idea of the creature feeding her by itself. She wanted to oppose, but in her current state, she would not able to eat all by herself. But, she guessed it was better than dying out of hunger. Albeit a bit shaky because of the pain, she slowly took a small chunk. Her eyes suddenly sparkled.

'_It's sho delishous~!'_She screamed inwardly.

Without minding anything else anymore, she dived into the food and started eating it ravenously. She did not mind what the creature will think of her because of how delicious the food was.

'_A blessing is a blessing no matter what form it is!'_ She said to herself.

While she was eating ravenously, the cloaked creature on the other hand…

"Whoa. So eager. Calm down, it's not like the food will go anywhere you know?" It told the spider mamono, but she did not listen.

Sighing in defeat, the creature simply let the spider mamono eat however she want to her heart's content. It did not took 5 minutes for the Ushi-Oni to finish the food completely.

"Ahh! That was really good!" She licked the remains on her lips. "Damn, never knew someone like you can cook something really good! How can you cook something this good anyway?"

"That's a secret only a good cook cannot reveal." The Ushi-Oni pouted at the creature's tease.

"I'm glad for the compliment by the way." The creature thanked her.

The creature took the board and shoved it outside of the cage before phasing through again. However, before proceeding, it looked back on the mamono and asked a question.

"Say, I actually forgot something. What is your name by the way?" The cloaked creature inquired.

"It is Seijun, Atagi Seijun." She answered humbly.

"That sounds like a boy's name…" It muttered silently. The creature pointed a thumb on itself. "You can call me Big Chill. Nice meeting you, Seijun." Big Chill then continued.

While the creature named… Big Chill, a weird name to be honest, walked away, Seijun found something odd about this Big Chill persona, as if it was hiding something. She did not know where that idea came from, but it suddenly came up to her mind out nowhere. Though she still do not trust the creature, it would not hurt to give the creature a benefit of a doubt.

"Hey!" Big Chill called her. "Would you mind if I serve you more meal? I've still got lots of it." It asked her.

Seijun's eyes twinkled in great joy and anticipation.

"Yes, please?" She replied excitedly.

The creature nodded and went on.

**XXX**

**(A Week Later…)**

Kohana has been checking the child from time to time together with Suzako and Akko to see if there was a progress to the boy's current state. They had been doing this for the past few days without any sign of giving up, same goes for the parents. The parents were devastated when they heard the truth behind their son's condition. And of course like a typical caring parents they were, they scolded Fuyu whom was in fault. The Yuki-Warashi was the one who brought their son to the forest without their knowledge and now their son would not woke up, still in a state of coma. Fuyu did her best to apologize to the parents and promised that she will never do it again, but the damage had already been done, so it was quite useless in the end. Onashi reprimanded her actions by not allowing her to be near with the boy again. Of course, this infuriated the Yuki-Warashi because of the Ochimusha's preposterous demand. However, the undead samurai only regarded her with a glare, causing the poor child to whimper. Once the matters had been settled, Suzako offered to help their son which they gladly accept. They bade their farewell after that.

The town had been silent as usual, it was peaceful. Too peaceful, perhaps? No strange mamonos or monsters had occurred yet, fortunately. The people were busy minding their own businesses, the same routine that was. However, instead of feeling ease, Kohana felt anxious. No one knew when those monsters would show up again, and it had been a full week since they had shown their presence to them. Onashi was also aware of it and she told her to be ready just in case they appear again. Apparently, the monsters had stopped showing for quite some time now, even the very first mamono, the mummy, whom they had met was also absent. She even checked the said mamono in the Blue Oni's house, but she cannot feel its presence within that mamono's abode. Numerous times she checked but still, the mummy was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps it left the town just like the rest of those mamonos? That seemed to be the case. Regardless, she needed to keep her guard up.

Who knew what kind of monsters or mamonos will show up that were new to their eyes again, right?

She exhaled beneath her mask and focused on their current task, and that was visiting the child.

"So, we are checking the kid again?" Asked Akko, beside her was the Nekomata carrying her pouch, it contained various herbs and medicines.

"Yes, we are checking the child again." The Kunoichi affirmed.

"You know, I just realized something, about this and the other weird stuffs that are happening on us." Akko said to Kohana.

The Kunoichi arched a brow.

"What is it then?" Kohana seemed to be curious.

"Remember when we first met the mummy?"

"I do…" Kohana replied.

"I think that's the reason why we are experiencing these weird shits for the past few days. It all started when that mummy arrived here." Akko explained, causing the Kunoichi to ponder.

"Yes, I noticed too. All of this, indeed, started when the mummy arrived here." Kohana pondered deeper. "These are no mere coincidences at all, there is probably a connection between them." She suspected.

"Hey, didn't Onashi told you to sketch those monsters we had fought, Suzako?" Asked Akko.

"She did, but if you are looking for those sketches, then sorry because I did not bring them along. They are on our base." She told Akko.

"Let us pay it no mind at the moment and focus on our-" Kohana halted in the middle of her line. They were near at the child's house. Right in the corner of an alleyway, she found Fuyu again, peering through the bamboos that were planted outside of someone's property. But, she was not the one that caused her to stop, it was because of something else.

Just in front the child's house was a being clad in copper-like armor with black stripes that stood slightly taller than the child's father, probably as tall as Akko or much taller than her. On its head was a protrusion that was similar to a windup key, at least it was what it looked like. And, on the chest part, gears can be seen inside, covered by a dark transparent material.

Kohana's colleagues seemed to notice the creature too. It also seemed the trepidation of the Kunoichi was right after all…

"Now what fuck is it time?!" Akko swore as she saw the figure of another unknown being. Looking at her colleagues she spoke. "Don't tell me that this… whatever the hell that person or monster is, is probably one of those weird shit creatures again, right?" She asked sarcastically, in which they nod as a reply.

"For fuck's sake!" The Red Oni muttered in indignation, albeit silently.

"The most notable part is the presence of mana which is-" Suzako was cut off from her line.

"Which is similar to those creatures we had encountered so far." Kohana finished.

"What should we do then?" The Red Oni questioned.

"Let us wait and watch from a safe distance." Kohona suggested.

Truth to be told, the emergence of many odd creatures had slightly starting to overwhelm them. Of course, for every creature they meet, they will strategize and study their combat skills and capabilities based on their experiences. The fact that they only learn what those creatures' capabilities were through fighting them infuriated her. It was such a pain, both literally and figuratively.

The group concealed themselves and watch if the creature will do something. As far as they could tell, the parents of the child were happily talking with metal creature, they were even bowing to it. Moreover, the mother even offered something to it, but the creature seemed to refuse it by gesturing at her. The exchanging of words between them and creature took only a few minute until suddenly, from the house, the boy came out, lively and healthy. This surprised them the most.

"Yuuta~!" They heard the Yuki-Warashi squealed in joy, still oblivious that they were just a few feet behind her.

They turned their eyes back to the creature again and saw it giving a piece of paper to them. The parents nodded at the creature and after that parents head inside of their house. However, the creature stared at the house for a minute before walking away. Kohana signaled her colleagues to follow, but in the blink of an eye, the creature was gone, popping out in reality.

"Did it just disappeared right before our eyes?" Suzako asked, baffled at what had just transpired.

"It seems…" Kohana said to her.

They then saw the Yuki-Warashi heading straight to the boy's house. Kohana was quick and immediately pulled and lifted the mamono by her clothe.

"Ow! Who the… " The mamono grimaced at the realization.

"You are a very stubborn mamono, Fuyu. As expected to a stalker." Kohana said nonchalantly to her.

"I'm not a stalker!" Fuyu denied.

"Really?" Akko raised a brow.

"Bu-but he is my future husband! We already pledged with each other!" She stammered as she told them. Forcing herself out of the Kunoichi's grasp, she ran towards the house after she had broken free.

"That little brat!" Akko muttered in annoyance and quickly chased after the girl.

Fuyu started thrashing around when the Red Oni caught her, unfortunately for her, the grip of the Oni was strong, making her attempt to escape futile.

"Quit it will you. You're just going to tear your clothes off." Akko told the girl and lifted the girl on her left shoulder.

"Let go of me!" The girl then began pounding her back, but the Red Oni did not react much.

"Hold her while we talk with Mr. and Mrs. Yoshimura." Kohana said to the Akko. The Oni nodded at her.

As the Oni hold the Yuki-Warashi, Kohana and Suzako called the Yoshimura family outside of their small house gate. The wind chime, hanging on the ceiling, clanged to life as they clashed to each other caused by a sudden gust of wind. Suzako slightly felt an odd sensation after she heard the wind chimes clang, as if the thing was beckoning to something or someone that was forthcoming. It wasn't ominous or foreboding, it was just a… like that. The eerie sound continued for a full minute before stopping completely in a dead silence.

The shoji opened and the Nekomata was brought back to reality from her stupor.

"Oh! Honey, it's the warriors again!" The Mother told her husband.

Suzako and Kohana waited as the mother talk with her husband.

"My husband said to come inside." Suzako and Kohana looked at each other for moment before proceeding, they left their foot wears on the Genkan, a combination of porch and doormat, before stepping inside. The two warriors sat on the cushion lying just to the side close to the table. However, they also regarded the flower lying on the top of a table before shifting her attention away from it. The mother offered them a tea as a sign of warm greeting, which they gladly accepted. Kohana removed her mask to take a sip from her cup, slowly, avoiding to accidently hurt herself by the hot liquid.

Across the other side of the table, sitting on the cushions, were the Yoshimura family, completely together with their son.

"As you can see, Mr. and Mrs. Yoshimura, we are here to talk about your son's condition and about that creature we saw recently whom you just talked with." Kohana said straight to the point.

"We understand." Then the Yoshimura family started explaining everything to the warriors on how their son was awake and about the monster they met.

It all started last night when a hooded-person wearing a cloak suddenly called out to them. The husband proceeded to a more detailed description when the Kunoichi requested for it. And, as a helpful family they were, they comply. They continued about the sudden visitation of an unknown person and their purpose for their visit, gender cannot be determined unfortunately. The said person wanted to see if their son was alright, but of course, they refused. That was a good decision for them seeing that the person was a complete stranger for them. For no apparent reason, the stranger said they just want to check their son if he was okay. Furthermore, apparently, this stranger knew what had happened to their son and the creature who helped their child deny his oncoming downfall.

Suzako and Kohana slightly furrowed their brows out of suspicion. No other individuals were there when the night of the incident happened. It was only them and their colleagues including the strange monster they had never met before. They were very cynical with those creatures. Their real agendas were still unknown to them.

They let the family continued and went on to the appearance of the stranger this time. They describe it as a person having a cold feel and phantom-like appearance. If they were to compare the stranger to a mamono or mamonos, then their close resemblance will be that of a ghost and mamonos who live in cold regions. They had a rather cold chilly voice too. The said stranger was also very tall and thin, giving it a fragile look. The warriors listened thoroughly and swallowed every bit information.

Seeing that the Yoshimura family was stubborn, the stranger addressed it in a different way by asking them about the child's health instead based on the couple's account. The Yoshimura family think for moment before telling what was actually wrong to about their son. This seemed to satisfy the stranger's need and promised that they will try to help their son. After that, it departed from their home, disappearing into the dark corners of the street.

"So, that's how it started…" Kohana commented, taking a sip from her tea.

"Curious…" Suzako placed a hand on her cheek.

"Can you describe the creature again, but in more well-detailed description?" She requested.

"Hmm…" The husband hummed. "I can't really get to the stranger's full appearance other than their cloak having a combination of black and blue color. It was too dark at that time. We didn't even have the chance to get their name." The husband explained.

"I see. What happened next then? Who is that golem-like creature that visited you earlier?" Suzako asked.

"We do not know." The Wife responded and continued.

"But, the golem said that one of its buddy had told the golem that there is a child needed to be healed." She told them. After exhaling, she hugged her son. "That is when that creature arrived the miracle occurred." She said happily.

The husband smiled. "Yes, it was because of the creature that our boy is awake now." He told them, also hugging his son.

"Though there are some drawbacks, I think?" The husband mumbled lowly, though not low enough not to be heard.

"Drawbacks you mention?" Kohana repeated the word.

"You see, after our son was healed, he couldn't recall any past event that happened, only the time when he was playing with Fuyu-chan…" The father slightly grunted.

"How did it healed your child?" Suzako was curious as this piece of information was a great discovery and could help them substantially, especially in her field of expertise.

"That we do not know. We were not allowed to watch." The Wife said, causing the Nekomata to slightly frown in disappointment. "Such a waste…" She muttered.

"Oh by the way, the golem had left a letter for you." The Wife gave them the piece of paper, folded horizontally in three.

Kohana accepted the letter and thanked them. "You're welcome!" The wife replied.

"Father why am I not allowed to see Fuyu-chan?" Their son asked his parents.

"Because…" His mother halted when they heard a familiar voice calling outside.

"Fuyu-chan!" Their son quickly ran outside and his parents quickly followed.

While there was a little commotion going on, Kohana gazed at the piece of paper given to them by the wife.

"What do you think this letter contains?" Asked Suzako.

"I do not have any idea, but it will be best to talk about the content of it with our colleagues." Kohana told Suzako.

The Nekomata took a final sip to her tea while Kohona was staring at the letter, mind filled with questions. It seemed their task regarding the boy was now settled, but a new one had arisen.

**XXX**

**(With Seijun…)**

The Ushi-Oni was currently having a small talk with Big Chill, the monster who took care of her after she had sustained heavy injuries from her previous fight with an unknown creature named Whampire. And somehow, this Big Chill knew who and what Whampire was and why the creature lacked any trace of mana at all. He, yes he because this Big Chill was a male, not just a male, but a male _monster _that should not_ possible _at_ all_, explained that Whampire was a special type of vampire that lived in place where life essence was being eaten out of the host's body. What horrifying place it was to live in.

Then, how can that… thing still live, let alone brawl with her. That did not actually make sense at all. Out of curiosity, she asked more information about that being, but Big Chill refused. He said that it will be personal. Personal my ass. She let out an exasperation and sighed at him. At least, she was treating her very well. Even feeding her with delicious foods. And about Big Chill, the creature was still full of mystery.

Though, she already had a hint about his abilities. That time when she whined about the water not being cold enough to quench her thirst, Big Chill, by simply holding a wooden container, which she doesn't know how he created it, freezes its lower and outer part. He had an ice manipulation power to some extent. Either he was related to the monsters that lived in the cold regions or just a monster that had that kind of power. But, the former was highly plausible than the latter since most monsters with ice powers originated in cold regions.

Moving on to that subject, she wondered if he would let her go. It's been a week now since he placed her in this prison. She had grown bored of it, unable to do much because of it. Looking at the crystals, she doubted they will break soon. Those crystals were really tough. Hell, she even tried to break and shatter them after regaining her strength, but it did not do much. She had been trying it for several days now and still no progress at sight. Eventually, she gave up. She even consider digging through the rocks, but that will be also an almost impossible task to do, plus she was not a mole or something.

Staring at Big Chill sitting near the campfire, she spoke.

"Just how long are you going to hold me in this pseudo-cell of yours?" She asked irritated.

"Not for long…" The Big Chill replied with cold raspy voice as usual. "Honestly, someone like you should be locked in an advance super maximum prison cell, because of what you can do." He told her.

'_The hell is that kind of prison?!' _She wondered.

"Hmph!" She puffed her cheek. "So cold to me. Although it's not completely my fault." She complained.

"I know it's because you don't have that talisman thing in your head when that time you tried to assault the child, but still, you need to pay." He retorted.

"And here I thought we are friend!"

"Oh trust me, we can and still be friend." Looking at her, Big Chill spoke again, causing her to gloom on the corner. "You know, you're moping will not work to me so stop already. We already talk about this."

"Fine!" Seijun gave up. "Then maybe, I can at least lessen my sentence." She folded her arms while tapping her left pointy finger to her temple.

"What do you suggest then?"

"Can I come and help you, instead? I mean if you give me up to the authorities, I might end up dead. I am wanted anyway." She explained.

"Hmm…" Big Chill hummed for a moment. "Not an actual bad idea." He replied, finding it good somehow.

The Ushi-Oni grinned at this. It appeared that the creature was considering her proposition. This is a good way to escape. Now…

"But…" The phantom spoke again. "If you're planning to do something _really_ funny…"

He raised his right hand and pointed his palm at the wall, the phantom unleashed a torrent of blue beam, causing the wall to be covered in thick, dense ice. After watching the little spectacle Big Chill showed to her, she gulped nervously and nodded.

"Okay okay! You do not need to threaten me, good Gods." Seijun muttered, nervously. Look like escaping isn't an option anymore to her. "Now that all is settled, where are you planning to go anyway? I mean you said that you will not be holding me for too long." She questioned.

"To a place where I can gain knowledge…" He answered.

Seijun did not like the sound of that.

"Why do I feel scared right now?" She asked and chuckled nervously.

"Don't worry, as long as I am here, no harm would come to you." Big Chill reassured.

"After all, it's one of the most important trait of being what I am today." He said cryptically.

That sounded so strange and harrowing at the same time. But at least, he promised that he will protect her. Should it be a male that said those words to her, she would have _blushed_ _already_. However, regarding about her current state, she should not complain as this was the most humane treatment she could get after what she had done. Being with creature was not bad at all it seemed. Besides, she was dead woman anyway.

**XXX**

_To be continued…_


	10. Chapter 10

**_Ben 10 and MGE belong to their rightful owners._**

**_XXX_**

**_Paving a Way_**

**(With the warriors…)**

It's been days since they saw the very last, new monster of the town, it was a monster clad in copper-like metal and closely resembled to that of a golem. No one knew for sure what exactly the creature was other than its insides were composed of gears. They suspected that the creature might be an automaton, a rare robotic mamono that had been lost in time. They can only be found in ancient ruins dating back to the old age. Moreover, rumors had suggested that these artificial constructs were well-capable not only in serving their masters, but also in combat. It was also rumored that despite they were poor at expressing emotions, they were quite affectionate towards weak targets like children and small animals. It's also suggested that they were internally equipped with healing device and weapons. Weapons that were not lethal, but enough to disable their foes.

Kohana doesn't know if the story or the information about the Automatons were real, as she hadn't met one in her entire course of her duty back when she was still serving the Fourth Princess, Druella, a powerful Lilim and a descendant of the Demon Lord and her husband. She truly admired her ideology back then, but after learning her true intentions, she backed out and returned home to serve her place instead.

Those days of serving the Fourth Princess had ended, now she must concentrate on her current task. Currently, she and her colleagues were looking at the sketches lying on the table. These sketches were made by Suzako to further study the appearance and remember the capabilities of the monsters. The very first one was the Mummy. The second was the Bug monster, Eatle. The third was a Ghost. The fourth was the Vampire. And lastly, the fifth was the Golem creature. These monsters were separated by a two categories, the mana ones and the void ones. So far, there were two monsters that belong to the void ones' category, the ghost and the vampire only. They placed them in a high priority target of sorts because of their nature, especially the ghost. Should one of them encounter these beings, one must proceed with high precautions.

Up to this point, no one can still figure how those two were still existing. Even their previous knowledge about mana and this world does not help much either. In the meantime, they should focus more making a plan and strategy against them for their future encounter.

Everyone was looking at the monsters' sketches inquisitively, studying them and finding their possible weaknesses. So far, the mummy and the vampire were the only creatures that had clear weaknesses due to their body compositions. Eatle was regarded as a number one threat because of the numerous casualties he might wreak. And, the most unpredictable of them was the Ghost. It was the perfect creature for reconnaissance and gathering information due to its abilities and nature. However, there was a problem with the ghost, and they find it so… repelling and terrifying.

The Red Oni couldn't hold herself anymore while looking at the sketch of the ghost and spoke.

"Ugh, what kind of monster is this shit?!" She was clearly disgusted by the aspect of the ghost. "Other Yokais look more pleasing than this weird guy." She added.

"Do not ever compare them to the Yokais. They are thousand times better than this freak of nature." Aisa retorted.

"Aye! Can't deny that." Akko agreed.

"I, Shigo and Kuni have not seen this kind of ghost too in our entire life." Hino commented as she stared the sketch of the ghost. The creature who easily toppled her.

From the cracks of its skin, its lone eye that was peeking through those cracks and chains attached to its body, one would assume that someone may have tried to contain this creature or at least that's what those chains indicate. However, the chains seemed really odd. They were instead connected to the other chains of its body, making it looked like the creature was being sealed by itself. Perhaps under the skin laid the ugly truth about the creature that was why it was sealed that way.

The undead samurai came closer and held the piece of sketch up to take a good look.

"This abomination, by just looking at it, reeks so much… death." She said ominously. "I do not like this one, not even in the slightest."

"Considering its nature, it is highly likely." Kohona concurred. "And I too, dislike it the most." She added.

"I got another illustration of the ghost, if you want I can show you." Suzako said to them albeit hesitant.

"Show it to us then." She obeyed the undead samurai and unfolded another paper.

After showing them another illustration of the creature, the colleagues couldn't help but to stare aghast at the illustration. Their face paled by just looking it, disgusted beyond point.

"By the Gods, what the in the underworld is this ghost?!" Akui said in total shock and disgust.

"Holy shit! This is far worse than I could have even imagined!" Akko commented, having the same feeling as the dark-themed Kunoichi.

Truth to be told, none of them had expected the creature to look so… grotesque. From its body, numerous black tentacles sprouting out. Not only that, the eye can be also seen in the different parts of its body, peeking through the cracks of it skin as always.

"This is what I saw…" Suzako paused for a moment before shaking her head and continue afterwards.

"After Hino provoked the creature by simply trying to escape, this creature partially unveiled its true form to subdue her. The ghost is capable of lifting many stuffs through its strong tentacles." She was petrified at that moment after remembering those past events.

If only she was unable to see the creature like them, then those horrific images would not be engraved in her mind. But, she knew better, she must be tough. Her fear had bested her twice, if she let her fear best herself again, then who knew what might happen next, right? After all, she was the only mamono who could see the ghost so far.

'_I should be as strong as them. My colleagues also depend on me.' _She told herself sternly.

"That is enough for now." Onashi told them, directing their attentions toward her. The undead samurai then raised a piece paper for them to see.

"As you see, this letter was brought by one of those creatures. I hope you still remember, it says here that they wanted us to meet them on the outskirt of the town." She placed the paper down.

"That's all?" Akko asked.

"I have more. Those creatures wanted to meet us and… talk. It says here that they want something from us." Onashi explained the content.

"You can read it back again if you want." And they did.

After they were done reading the content back again, they placed the paper down on the table.

"So… What's the plan?" The Oni asked.

"We will meet them." Kohana answered.

"Eh? But didn't you say that the vampire creature suddenly attacked you?" Akko reasoned.

"She is right. What if they will suddenly attack us again? This diplomatic way of yours will not only risk your life, but the life of others as well." Onashi told her sternly.

"I know." Kohana replied to her.

"That is why I will do it alone." This causes them to react incredulously.

"Hey, Kohana. You sure your head is working right? Do you even hear yourself?" The Kunoichi only gave the Oni with flat stare as a reply.

"I know what I am doing. That's why I am willing to take the risk." Kunoichi then suddenly pulled a flower and showed it to them. "I got a hunch after I saw this withered flower or at least it was what it used to be." She said.

"What do mean?" Onashi asked curiously.

The Kunoichi gazed down and onto the flower.

"I believe they are the change." Kohana said cryptically.

Kohana admitted, they were good at obscuring their motives, but not their nature. Whatever they were hiding, she will try to unravel it.

**XXX**

**(With Blue Oni…)**

Yusa had been feeling lonely since her friend had left to follow the warriors. But, not only had her friend never came back, the warriors somehow seemed had stopped bothering her. She was growing at anxious for the past few days, not for herself, but for her friend. If only the idiot shape-shifter knew how worried she was to him.

She looked outside and saw that the sun was already setting. Night will arrive soon and she hadn't prepared for her dinner yet. After that, she stood up and went to her kitchen to prepare her supper.

"Alright, tonight's meal will be Unagi and Onigiri." She announced seemed to no one.

During her preparation in making her meal, the Oni had wondered if Snare-oh was successful in dealing with those warriors. So far, neither Snare-oh nor the warriors had shown their presence to her, which was bad because this was giving her a negative implication that something had happened between them. She shook her head focused on making her meals. After an hour, she set the table placed her meals for tonight's dinner. She sat down and took a deep breath and let the aroma of food stream through her nose before exhaling.

"Looks like I'm eating alone. Well, even if Snare-oh was here, I still eat alone." She plainly jested to herself.

"Oh well, Thanks for the fo… " She stopped as she heard something landing on the grass of her backyard. She placed down the utensils and headed quickly to open the shoji. However, before she could open it, the shoji suddenly opened, revealing a stranger wearing a blue cloak. Yusa couldn't see through the stranger's hood because of the darkness outside. She froze and shivered as she felt chills, literal chills from the sheer coldness of the stranger. She swore to herself as she doesn't usually put lamps on her backyard. Staring into the stranger, she asked.

"Who are you?!" She demanded rather forcibly.

"_Chill_. It's me, Snare-oh." The stranger said, revealing a familiar hourglass to her, the hourglass that Snare-oh used to fiddled with.

Yusa let out a breath of relief when the stranger introduced himself.

"Gods!" She eased after that. "Don't scare me like that!" She scolded Snare-oh.

"Eh? But I never meant to." The stranger said. "Anyways, you can call me Big Chill in this form." Big Chill told the Blue Oni.

Yusa let him inside before anyone could see him.

"Sorry, this is only I have prepared." She said to Big Chill before sitting down.

"Sure." Big Chill replied. "You might as well finish your food before it gets cold." He added as he sat on the other side of the table.

Yusa nodded and dug into her meals, savouring the tastes and spices. While she was eating, Snare-oh… or Big Chill was intently staring, not to her, but to the food.

"That fish looks tasty." Big Chill commented.

"You want some?" Yusa asked and tried to offer him a food.

"Nah, I'm good." Big Chill refused.

"Well, if you say so." Yusa replied.

"By the way, what happened to your _meeting_ with the warriors? Did something special happened of sort? Because you haven't visited me for quite some time now." She asked Big Chill.

Big Chill was silent for a moment, thinking how he will tell his story. Whilst he was wondering, Yusa was curious as to what actually happened between him and the warriors. From his expression… she simply shook her head because for whatever reason, this form of his doesn't had or lacked any expression somehow.

'_This is just getting weirder and weirder.'_ She thought.

"Bah!" Big Chill suddenly yelled which startled her, almost spitting her food.

"Shit, I almost spilled my food." She swore.

"Don't ever do that again!" She scolded him.

"Sorry…" He apologized.

"I don't know how I will going to tell you this though." Yusa did not like the way Big Chill spoke. It felt like he was about reveal something so big yet upsetting.

"You can tell it to me. I will listen, promise." She said to him.

"Well, it started like this…" And Big Chill went on to tell his tale.

**(An hour later…)**

"Holy shit!" Yusa swore out loud. "Are you fucking out of your mind?!" She swore again.

"Ugh, can you not swear like that? Geez…" Big Chill complained, still not used to vulgar words.

"And yes, I'm planning to go in Lescatie to put a stop to a war." Big Chill said in serious manner.

"Snare-oh, I mean Big Chill whatever, did you ever think about it?! **_You're. Fucking. Going. To. A. War_****!** And war is affiliated with **_Death_****!** You are just begging to be killed! The Order would surely hunt you down, same goes for the Demon Lord's side as they will perceive you as a monster of the old. I know you are a hero, but this is insane." Yusa told Big Chill frantically.

However, Big Chill was nonchalant at this and simply listened to her. He understood what Yusa felt, but he was a hero, and he had an important duty to be done.

"I know." Big Chill answered.

"Don't worry much about me. I've been dealing with this kind of stuffs since I was ten." He added.

"Wait, what?!" Yusa couldn't believe if she heard it right.

"You have been dealing with wars since you were just child?"

"Not exactly war, but matters that as worse as war." Big Chill clarified.

"The war with Highbreed specifically, is one of the wars I had experienced firsthand. I can tell this Order is not far from being like them, at least their genocidal tendency."

"What do you mean?" Yusa was curious. She couldn't believe that in a young age, Big Chill had experienced war already. Sure, the knights from the Order and probably some mamonos fought in young age, but Big Chill's story was more… frightening based on his tone alone. She could feel it.

"Genocide above galactic scale." Yusa's eyes widened and was horrified from what she had heard.

"Genocide… above galactic scale?" She don't know that last term, but she knew, it's far broad.

"You probably can't understand the last part." Big Chill said to her.

"You can put it simply like this. It is a genocide of all living beings, far wider that you could have ever imagined. That's all you need to know." And Big Chill stopped at that part. Yusa don't know if Big Chill was just exaggerating that part or it's the truth, regardless, she cannot judge him. She wasn't there to witness it after all.

"So, how did you resolve the conflict?"

"By curing them."

"It does not make any sense!"

"True, but the story of this alien race was quite a sad one." Despite deeming them as an enemy, Yusa could sense Big Chill's empathy towards them.

"They were a dying race of alien, so I did what I must do. And that is curing them and putting a stop to their genocidal rampage. That's all the summary." Yusa couldn't help, but to admire Big Chill. He didn't plant any vendetta to the Highbreed and also decided to help them by curing them even though they were his enemies. But, curing them of what? Disease?

'_Is this what a hero really is?' _She wondered unlike the so-called heroes of The Order.

"Sounds like Deus Ex Machina to me." She jested to him.

"So if the Order is like this dying alien race, then probably the Demon Lord has a close counterpart from your reality." Yusa joked.

"The Order is not actually like them, only the genocidal part. The reason behind their genocide is bitterness unlike those zealots. The Order is more resembling to our own knight order, the Forever Knight." Big Chill clarified.

"A knight order in your reality? Now, that is interesting. I bet they are like the Order, they don't want those monsters or aliens at all." She guessed.

"Yep, almost exact the same as The Order." Big Chill concurred. "And, about the Demon Lord? She actually has." This made Yusa curious, slightly leaning her head forward.

"Have you ever heard about an Old One?" Big Chill whispered in a chilling tone.

The two end up talking with each other all night, though the conversation was one-sided because Big Chill who was talking most of the time, sharing his experiences and tales from his reality. Yusa meanwhile, merely talked at all, but listened to him closely. She was fascinated yet scared at the same time. Now Yusa wasn't sure if she will have a good sleep tonight after hearing those stories.

**(The next morning…)**

Yusa woke up and yawned groggily. Having a not good sleep last night was a bad idea, but who would able to though after learning so many interesting yet scary things thanks to her friend. Though still in doubt because of how outrageous her friend's tales were, from a world-conquering warlord to godlike beings and an evil, powerful demon god that wanted to conquer the whole universe, at least Big Chill's universe, she can't help but to… she couldn't find the exact word that was best to describe her friend's tale. It sounded so absurd, true, but it was really an interesting tale to tell. What was more interesting was the amount of life that's existing within Big Chill's reality.

Apparently, his world was just one of the many worlds that were existing within his reality, as far as she could understand. He said that there were countless worlds beyond the stars, so there were countless creatures, lives, out there and his forms were from these other worlds, and beyond the universe, an infinite amount of reality was existing.

Yusa groaned as she grabbed her head.

"Ugh, my head still hurts." She said to herself as she got up to get a water. The concept her friend brought to her was truly hard to swallow.

"Ah, you're awake." A voice behind her said.

Yusa turned to stare at Big Chill, sitting in cross legs across the living room.

"I carried you back to your bed after you passed out last night." He informed her as he stood up.

"I also took care of the dishes." He added.

"Thanks! I lost my shit last night after what you just told me, sorry about that." Yusa replied and apologized solemnly to him.

"No worries. It's just a small token of gratitude for giving me a temporary shelter." Big Chill answered back.

Looking down and to his pseudo-cloak, he showed a pale, green crystal shard which was quickly attracted the eyes of the Blue Oni.

She rubbed her eyes and looked again.

"Is that a crystal that I'm seeing right now?" Yusa asked.

"Yep, it's a payment for…" The Blue Oni quickly grabbed the crystal to examine it.

"Are you sure? This looks so expensive!"

"Yes." Big Chill nodded.

"Thank you!" Yusa expressed her gratitude as she bowed.

Big Chill stared deadpan at her. At least, she was happy.

'_Talk about having a sudden mood swing.' _He jested inwardly.

"You're welcome." He wanted to smile, but his current form is prohibiting him in doing so.

He gave her a farewell then headed toward the shoji leading to the backyard to leave. But when Yusa saw him, she called him out.

"Wait!" Big Chill stopped to look at her.

"Yes?" He asked.

The Blue Oni fidgeted with her fingers while holding the crystal.

"Uhm… Are you really leaving? Can't you just stay for a little longer?" Yusa questioned him, deeply worried about his future.

"Yes, and I'm already running out of time. Sorry if our meeting was too short." Big Chill then pointed his thumb on himself.

"I'm a hero, Yusa. This is part of my duty." She couldn't help, but to smile at him.

"Heh, I see now. I guess I can't really stop you." She muttered and faced him with a supportive smile plastered in her face.

"Then go kick some villain's ass then!" She told him.

"I will!" Big Chill headed out of the house and spread his wings.

"Whoa!" Yusa uttered. "Those were wings and you were also a mothman all along?!"

"Yep, but I'm not a mothman. I'm a Necrofriggan." He clarified.

Big Chill turned his head up to face the sky then back to Yusa again.

"Do you want to ask more before I completely leave?" He asked one last question.

"I do not want to ask anything, but can we promise to each other?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Then, can we meet one final time before you return to your universe after the conflict?" She sobbed suddenly.

"I-I j-just want to p-properly say goodbye" Yusa couldn't hold it anymore and cried.

"I know I brought you some troubles, I am really sorry about that. I know our bonding, well, I do not know if that was bonding or whatever to you because it was short, I still hold them close to my heart. You might be wondering why I am saying this, hehehe. It's because you are an important friend to me, like Arethice, Big Chill or Snare-Oh!" She laughed at the last line while her tears were still pouring down from her eyes.

"It's Ben…" Big Chill said.

"What?" Yusa rubbed her tears off.

"It's Ben, Ben Tennyson." Ben finally revealed his true name to her. "It's my true name."

"Well then, Ben Tennyson, I will be waiting for your return!" Yusa said enthusiastically. The Necrofriggan nodded at her. He flapped his wing and zoomed upward with great speed, making him look like a blur.

'_Until we meet again, Ben.' _She whispered in the winds as she held his gift to her.

**XXX**

**(With the Ushi-Oni…)**

Seijun had awoken up from the smell of the meat being cooked. She stood up and stretched her limbs and yawned. And, as usual, she was finding a way to kill her boredom. She swore that it's been more than a week now since she's been held in the prison.

Turning her head around to look at Big Chill? No, it wasn't Big Chill this time. The creature looked like a red mollusk of some kind that had a shell hood of sort, definitely not a mamono like them. It's something else like Big Chill and Whampire. She also noticed that the crystal bars that were keeping her from running away were gone now.

"Oh, so Big Chill decided to remove them, how nice." She said.

"Yeah, and don't be so complacent." The Mollusk creature berated.

Raising an eyebrow, she asked. "And who are you? I thought Big Chill will take care of me?"

"Big Chill is not suitable for this mission, so for now he is out of commission." The mollusk creature explained to her.

The creature took the meat away from fire and examined it. When it was satisfied, it placed the meat on a board. It approached the Ushi-Oni and gave her the food in which the mamono gladly accepted.

"Thanks!" She said.

"No problem." The mollusk replied plainly.

Seijun then started eating. And, whilst she was still eating, she began asking several questions one of which was about the plan they had and about the mission? It appeared that they were planning something. She doesn't know if it was something malicious or not, but she must keep herself away from it else it will be her undoing and she might be accused of being an accomplice.

As they started and goes on with their conversation, to her surprise, the mollusk creature answered every question she ask, but it was subtle much to her annoyance. It looked they really want to keep things in secret, don't they? Well, whatever it was, she will not try to pry more.

"Is that all?" The mollusk creature asked.

"Yes." Seijun replied. "You know. You guys really like to keep things in the dark, don't you?" She added.

"Of course, especially from you." She puffed her cheeks.

"Like, Big Chill, you, too, are cold and rude." She then folded her arms.

"Can you blame us? Anyway, you need to be ready because we are leaving in two days or so." The mollusk creature told her.

"There is also one thing you need to know, if you are planning to escape, don't even try it." The creature threatened her much to her displeasure.

"Why should I?" She asked back as if challenging the creature.

"Because no matter where you go, we can still find you no matter what. We have your scent."

"What are you guys? Mutts?" The Ushi-Oni joked.

"Well, we have literal mutts in our group, so yeah." She had enough and doesn't want to go further so she changed the subject.

"Okay, where exactly are we going?" She asked.

"That's a secret for now." Seijun swore that she's clearly not liking the way these creatures kept putting her in the dark. She just hope that it wasn't as bad as what she was imagining right now.

**(Two days after that…)**

"What the fuck is your problem? Why did you not tell me that we are going to meet them?!" Seijun swore to the mollusk creature as she stared at the two warriors warily. She recognized the Kunoichi from the night of the incident, except the Red Oni beside her, she didn't remember her being there at that time.

"Seriously, another one again?" The Red Oni whined and clicked her tongue.

"So, you are taking care of this harlot here, you… whatever you are." The Kunoichi said, her remark clearly ticked the nerve of the Ushi-Oni.

"Watch your tongue or that will be your last word." The Ushi-Oni threatened, brandishing and stretching her claws slightly.

"Can you, guys, please be calm? You are scaring Fuyu." The mollusk creature said to them.

"Hmph, not only that you bring that sex offender here, you also bring the little stalker." Kohana said as she turned her gaze towards the Yuki-onna.

"Isn't that too harsh to say to a child?" The mollusk creature commented, not liking how they address the little girl.

Kohana merely ignored the creature. "Why did you bring her along?" She asked.

"Because I saw her crying all the way here." The creature answered as it patted the head of the little girl.

"Why are you forbidding her from seeing her friend? I know it was her fault, but still it's too much."

"You clearly lack the common sense here…" Kohana said back.

"Wow, so this is the real you." The creature just noticed. "Never knew that you can be this… cold."

"I can be as cold as a killer if the circumstance forces me to." She then softened her expression.

"Pardon, especially to you, little one. But what you did was too much to be simply forgotten." Kohana told the Yuki-Warashi.

"I-I k-know what I did was wrong. But, please, give me another chance, I swear I will do everything!" The girl then prostrated before her in dogeza style to show how deeply wrong and sorry she was. Such strong conviction she was showing. "Please, give me another chance."

Kohana think for moment before looking at Akko who just shrugged at her.

"Well, it was the boy's parent who wanted it in the first place though. Plus, it's up to them if they will let her, we are out of that kind of matter." Akko commented.

"True, but we will try to reconsider and talk about it again." Kohana told the little girl.

"Thank you! Thank you!" The girl said profusely

"Being fierce and caring at the same time… That's good at least." The creature commented much to its satisfaction. It then looked at the girl.

"Can you leave for now, Fuyu? We need to talk something very important." The creature told girl. The girl obeyed while giving the Ushi-Oni a dirty look before going away. Seijun merely rolled her eyes.

"So, what do you want from us?" Kohana asked the creature while still eyeing at the Ushi-Oni warily.

"A pass for the imperial palace." The creature answered. "You are a warrior in high regard, so I assume you can send me there."

This caused the Kunoichi to narrow her eyes in suspicion.

"What are you planning to do?"

"I am planning to do some… change, a reformation. But, it will require some common knowledge. At first, we are planning in going to Polove, however, we have considered that place as highly dangerous place for us to visit. We will be ostracized." It appeared that Kohana's hunch was right, and they were indeed the change. But, there was a question she couldn't get out of her mind.

Why do these creatures have very little knowledge about this world? All of them had in common and that was the lack of knowledge about the world they were currently living in. After all, they're born from this world unless…

"That is rather ambitious and dangerous at the same time. Polove is, truly, a dangerous place, at least for you monsters." Kohana said, agreeing to their wise decision of not heading straight there.

"I am also surprised that you did not consider Sabbath as the place is filled in every information that you might need."

"Of course, that's what our other buddy had said to us after talking to you. He warned us about that place and not to go there."

"And, who is this buddy of yours that you are mentioning right now? Do not tell me you that are referring to the ghost." She presumed. Well, she cannot be wrong. The ghost was the only monster who had a proper conversation with them.

"Yes, it was thanks to him and to you and to your group, also, for providing us such information. However, it was still not enough." The mollusk creature turned to stare at the Ushi-Oni who looked back at the creature before turning its attention back to the two warriors.

"We can talk further about it along the way." It said to them.

"What about the Ushi-Oni." The Red Oni reminded them.

"Akko is right. What about the Ushi-Oni." The Kunoichi repeated.

"I'll take the responsibility of keeping an eye on her." Kohana wasn't satisfied at this.

"What can you promise in return?" She asked again.

"Just my words." The creature replied, much to the dissatisfaction of the Kunoichi.

"That's rather unfortunate." She commented flatly.

"But, it is a gamble I would want to bet with." Kohana then smiled under her mask.

"I will not disappoint you. Promise." The creature swore and it held its fist up as a sign of its hardened resolve.

"That is enough…" Kohana said.

"Huh, you're more considerate this time, Kohana." Akko remarked.

"True." Kohana wasn't sure how her other colleagues will react to this. Akko seemed fine, but she feared Onashi's reaction the most after learning about this conversation of theirs. However, if her hunch was right, then it would be worth betting for. Despite the lingering fear that she might be wrong, there was still something inside her that's saying that helping them will cause a ripple to their world. A message that was forthcoming, that will cause a major shift in their current state of affair.

'_Gods, please, guide me.' _She prayed.

**XXX**

_To be continued…_


	11. Chapter 11

**_Ben 10 and MGE belong to their rightful owners._**

**_XXX_**

_**The Journey to the Palace**_

The sun above was high; its light, giving warmth to the living beings below, and brightly glisten the world with its beautiful blazing flame that reached through even from a great distance. It was the source of life and energy of the surface dwellers and other living beings that relied on it. A source of sight for the creatures, a source of energy for plants and an enormous spotlight that seemly hung above to show the beauty of what the world could give.

Kohana felt its warm touch as she absorbed the sensation that was reaching through her skin and soul, an unparalleled light that no one can imitate, a beauty that was unmatchable by any other. Without this, she would not able to see the beauty of the world, its surroundings, its landscape, everything. It gave her peace and clear of mind. She even let her sweat rolled down her cheeks while looking at the clear blue sky above.

She also took note of the surroundings, further indulging herself from the scenery and its tranquil sensation it gave off by mere gazing at it. The trees were lively fluttering as the wind touched their leaves, rustling and whistling through their ears, in the chorus of the birds and insects that were chirping and buzzing. Flowers were widely blooming, their petals unveiled, letting those who depends on them feed. The green scenery combined with the clear sky was perfect for someone who sought serenity through Mother Nature's gift like her. The view in front of her would be perfect if not thanks to the suffocating atmosphere she had been feeling just right behind her.

The Kunoichi swore as she slightly turned her head to look over her shoulder to see if the _others_ were doing fine. But as she expected, yet still disappointed, even though she knew this would likely to happen, the people behind had other…_ plan _than her. She could sense the lingering tension through the air around them and it was heavy that she could have slumped and cowered at any moment in fear if not thanks to the fortitude that she had built over the past few years. The negative sensation was very familiar to her, the hostility they were exuding to one another.

The Nekomata on her left slightly whimpered as she whispered prayers to the gods of which she never knew what and for exactly, but at the same she knew somehow. While the Red Oni on her right, whose body was twice, maybe thrice as tougher than hers, grunting in dismay, trying to avoid and forget the same negative atmosphere that Kohana had been feeling too. The red brute, just like Kohana, wanted to slump over and be done with the ugly feeling she was having right now no thanks to her colleagues.

Looking to her left, Akko noted that Kohana was observing silently, as if waiting for something bad to happen anytime soon. Akko walked closer to her, in which the Kunoichi took regard as Kohana turned her head towards the Red Oni, raising a brow, she let the Red Oni spoke words that assured she and only her could hear.

"Damn, they are like volcanoes waiting to explode though." Akko said to Kohana. "I feel like shits about to get loose anytime soon.

"Then be vigilant, Akko. We do not know when it will happen, but the possibility that it will happen is assured." Kohana commented as if already taking the future was already certain. "If this hostility of theirs would not subside, I want you to ready your mind and body to hold either one of the group."

Truth to be told, the intensity of the glare that their other colleagues were giving to the other group, the group of the Ushi-Oni and the mollusk creature, must be taken seriously as a warning else their trip would have gone in disarray, further slowing their pace in the process as it already been while also worsening the relationship she had been trying to build with them starting with the mollusk creature, attempting to learn what they were scheming, just to be sure that if they were trust-worthy or not. Though, the last part was foolish enough for reasons that she will keep only to herself.

On the other hand, the mollusk creature somehow had sensed the murderous intent her colleagues were giving to them, or more specifically, to the Ushi-Oni. The creature slowed its pace to get behind of the Ushi-Oni to block and defend her by itself in case her colleagues would attempt to attack the horned spider mamono.

Kohana doesn't know which the creature was as it did what did just to protect the horned spider mamono, either it was simply confident or a fool. But the latter of which she had assumed was far from what she was seeing right now. The creature was not a fool for doing such reckless action; perhaps it was true confidence that made the creature do what it did, guarding the back of the mamono by its own body. Though Kohana wasn't sure if it was purely confidence or just cockiness, but the former suggested otherwise while observing the creature further.

The creature was covered in thick hide or shell of the sort that was similar yet and different to the other creature they had encountered who had the same exact thing with the mollusk creature, a natural body armor. But the longer she observed the creature's appearance, the more it appeared to be a shell rather than a black natural armor like Eatle had in her perspective. That might suggest that the creature originated from the depths of the ocean. And because it probably came from the depths of the ocean, its shell may be as hard as Eatle's, a logical assumption if one would consider the crushing pressure under the ocean. That would also mean that the creature should be dependent in water as seeing the ocean was far from the surface and travelling under through the seafloors would take time, but the sole reason why might such creature do such thing cannot be answered. Although some mamonos from ocean do come up from the depths to seek several things, mostly seeking a husband for themselves, but that was a whole other story for them. Moreover, the creature was walking fine even under the direct sun which suggested different else too.

It pained her to think even further. Perhaps the ghost was right all along. Instead of thinking about those kind of stuffs, why not think about convenient things that can be helpful not only to her but to their colleagues, right? Kohana examined the creature's appearance further and took note of it.

The creature had red hardened shell first and foremost. It had a hood that was protecting that creature's head, four green slit eyes and black thin flexible like shells in joint areas. It also had numerous portholes covered in green materials of which she could not determine what and spikes on its body, mostly in the arms and legs and possessed a set of sharp jagged claws that could probably easily tear through any armored opponent effortlessly. There were also portholes on its palms. The difference of these portholes in its palms and other once that can be seen in the body, it was not covered compared to the other portholes in its body. This meant that it had a purpose of which she could not know of and only assumptions yet again may prove useful in this kind of scenario. She suspected that those portholes can shoot something like energy projectiles or spikes, but whether which was which she would not know. In the near future, maybe, should someone will force the creature to do so that was. Strength wise, the creature might be weaker than the bug monster and it was less bulky, sleeker, but that was not the reason one should not consider it as a serious threat as the vampire creature had proven to them that mere appearance can be deceptive.

"Hey, why am I carrying all of this?" Kohana suddenly heard the Ushi-Oni whined. "Can you not carry any on your own?"

"Why? The other of half of your body is perfect for the job though." The mollusk creature reasoned. "It's big enough to carry so many stuffs."

"Are you telling me that I'm a fat!?" The Ushi-Oni took the word differently.

"Seriously? I didn't mean that way though, sheesh. Never knew that kind issue transcends beyond time and space…" The mollusk creature mumbled the last part silently and sighed. "Plus, it's better.

"Okay, just why do I need to carry all of these stuffs? And you also made a saddle for me. What makes it better?"

"Just trust me, it is _better_."

Kohana then saw the creature slightly turned its head behind, emphasizing what the creature meant through those words it sputtered to the horned spider mamono. The Ushi-Oni got what the creature meant through those words of the creature after that.

Out of all of them, except for the red brute, the Ushi-Oni was the only mamono who was carrying a bunch of things ranging from small pouches to big sacks and bags, all packed in her back, placed and tied in her pseudo-saddle that, according to her, was the mollusk creature's idea. If Kohana would be frank, the state of the Ushi-Oni right now actually did remind her of that of a horse carrying different merchandise.

"Is this alright, Kohana?" The Nekomata beside her asked.

"Like I said, it will be fine, Suzako." She assured to her.

"Onashi still did not like what you did back before, why are you betting so much on this Kohana?"

"Because, I must."

"No deeper reasons at all?"

"There are, but I am not sure what those reasons were. All I know is that I need to help them. After all-" Kohana pulled the flower from before from her left ear that was resting in between all alone. "I do believe they are the change."

"That was the flower from the boy's house." Suzako realized what it was. "But, why is it still on you?"

"I have my own… premonition, Suzako, one that I could not discern really well." Kohana said cryptically.

"We all do as it was ingrained to every one of us. But seriously, Kohana, have it not to your words and… this _price_ you placed to yourself, Onashi would never be swayed." Suzako pointed out.

"That just means Onashi really do care in your well-being Kohana." Akko suddenly joined. "After all, Onashi thought of you as a sister, she really likes you. Well honestly, you two look like twins really. Though not in appearance, but in other…err… aspect."

It was true, what Suzako and Kohana said was true. Had it not for her reasons and convincing, Onashi would never let this trip of theirs to happen and she would be forced to do it alone herself. But there was one part of that she knew was really the cause of Onashi's sudden change of heart, it was her promise, a warrior's promise. Promise to offer her life if things will go upside-down. They were all surprised at this, even the mollusk creature that first came up with the idea.

**XXX**

**(Before the Departure…)**

Kohana had settled the matter first regarding Fuyu and the boy's parents, a small matter that would possibly lead into a great disaster in the near future if left not properly addressed. Through the use of a cloak to conceal itself, the mollusk creature would have been able to blend well with the humans and mamono in the town. Once they reached the Yoshimura family's abode, the mollusk creature revealed itself, much to her surprise, but not to the Yoshimura family whose stares did not sway from the sight of the monster. They were instead intrigued and confused. They then began their small introductions before proceeding to the real problem. The parents welcomed the mollusk creature with a warm smile after that introduction. They really did trust and were thankful to the creature, or more specifically to one of the creature's said 'buddy', the strange automaton. So, that part of acceptance should be expected to them, but not to her as she was still a bit surprised about them.

She waited along with Akko as their conversation goes on. Thankfully, the mollusk creature had found a way to convince the parents to give the little girl, the Yuki-Warashi a chance to let herself be with their son. Kohana actually complimented Fuyu's deep conviction and repentance for what she did by prostrating in front them in dogeza style as a sign of sincere apology. The mollusk creature kneeled beside her and told her that it was not necessary, and calmed the crying mamono. She shook her head as she saw the scene transpiring before her. She swore that an afterimage of a mother took the creature's form much to her confusion. But the creature did actually look like a mother for a moment there.

After the not-so-long talk, the parents had been successfully convinced by the creature and gave Fuyu a chance much to the little mamono's delight, the creature even joked about to two children looking like a couple much to the little girl's delight again; even Akko agreed much to her dismay this time. When all was settled, they bade their farewell after that.

**(In The Warrior's Temporary Quarter…)**

As the Kunoichi expected to the reaction of her colleagues, especially Onashi, they did not liked and the mere presence of the monster behind her did stir their instinct a bit to the point that they were about to draw their weapons, glares deepened even more, boring into the creature.

"Why did you bring this… new monster here, Kohana?" Suzako asked, her demeanor was different, in contrast with their colleagues.

"Indeed, why did you bring that monster here?" Onashi asked, more like demanded then pointed at the creature. "And you, you know you are not welcome, right?

"Yeah, and nice to meet you." The creature shrugged, then it averted its attention to her to look at the other Kunoichi, Akui. "And I believe this yours."

The creatures tossed a piece clothe to the said Kunoichi who caught it with her hands, eyes widening in surprise after unfolding the piece of cloth that Kohana had remembered after the Ushi-Oni gave it to the creature, revealing to be the blade of the Akui that had been last seen during the night of the incident between Kohana's colleagues and the Ushi-Oni. Supposedly, she would just let this pass a minor thing, but what caught her eyes was the pristine condition of the blade had, like it was newly forged and bought out from a smith.

Akui examined the blade in her hands, still in doubt if it was really her sword as the condition was far from what she remembered, it looked like it was in its early days. Which was impossible because she used this blade of hers a lot. She looked at blade near the hilt and saw the word that she personally placed, and it was there.

"Is this really mine?" The voice was filled with uncertainty.

"Well, I saw you stabbed the spider woman's shoulder with it." The creature said nonchalantly, not fully realizing how the sword meant to the Kunoichi as if it was an extension of her body.

"Let us head straight to the point." Onashi announced, gaze still on the monster. "What do you want?"

"A pass to the palace that only you guys can provide me."

"You sound like you are asking of our approval instead."

"That's the whole point."

"Then why?" Onashi asked. "With the ghost ally or the bug monster of yours, you can either simply infiltrate it or barge in your way to the palace. I highly doubt any one of us can stop you, and the only kind of mamono that can is rare even in our homeland."

"Meh, that would leave a bad impression to the people and a bad taste in our mouths." The Ochimusha slightly furrowed her brow because of this. "'Sides, we are not really working as a group since we cannot do so because of our lack of numbers. There are like a few of us here."

"I see then… There are only a few of you here…" Onashi swallowed that information before moving to the primary subject. "So you seek the masses' acknowledgement, is it not right?"

"Yes..."

"Why?"

"For reasons I cannot reveal yet." Onashi snorted at this.

"What you can you even promise in return?"

"I can only promise-"

"Words are not enough." Onashi cut the creature's sentence, much to the surprise of the creature.

"Oh. Then, how about my life?" Everyone in the room gasped even Kohana, but Onashi scoffed.

"Your life is not even that enough for we will not earn anything worthy over your death." The creature only remained silent at this.

"Then how about mine?" Every stares were then directed to the voice who said that, it was Kohana. Most of them were unable to find the word.

"Okay, I think we are going overboard here, but seriously, Kohana, are you out of your mind?!" Akko asked her.

"You don't need to do this for us!" The creature said to Kohana which she simply ignored.

"Do you even know how heavy that kind of burden you are trying to carry, Kohana?" Onashi questioned her, voice was slightly alarmed due in shock and concern.

"I know and I will take the chance, Onashi." Kohana said straightly, eyes matching the level of stares the Ochimusha giving to her which lasted for a full minute in silence before Onashi had broken up and sighed as she rubbed her forehead.

"Fine!" Onashi gave up and accepted the creature's request. "But, we will join the trip to the palace."

"Alright." The creature agreed.

"Tomorrow at dawn, we will depart." The Ochimusha told the creature.

"Got it." The creature then turned to face the Kunoichi who helped her. "I really owe you this one."

The Kunoichi closed her eyes for a moment before nodding.

"Since all businesses are done here, I will see you tomorrow." The creature then turned to leave, heading straight to the forest.

**XXX**

**(Present…)**

The two groups were currently finding a small open field where they could set their camp before they proceed on their next task as the sun was beginning to set. However, that simple task of finding a small open field had been proven if not hard at least a little difficult that they anticipated. The forest was dense, with trees gapping only in few meters away from each other, the bushes and wild plants had also made the situation worse, but none of them seemed to mind this minor hindrance anyway.

While finding an open field, Onashi began speaking.

"We have just started our journey and the path we had taken would be difficult to traverse, but this is the only short path I know we could take on. However, we could also make it shorter if you want it." Onashi said to the mollusk creature who nodded in return before continuing. "There is a river ahead this dense forest that would take two to three days to reach, depending on our pace, where a village can be located also. Following the river would at least take us more than a week or two, however, if we choose to the traverse the mountainous valley, it would take us less or more than a week or so. Below the mountainous valley, there is a defile which a village can be located in there. Since the weather seems fine, we can easily traverse the defile without worrying of it turning into quagmire. Your choice."

"Whatever makes our trip shorter since I don't really mind them." The creature shrugged and turned its head toward to Seijun. "Would that bother you?"

"No, I am used to travelling such rough terrains. Things like these would be a simple walk for me." Seijun answered.

"Guess that we are continuing this hard path then." The creature muttered.

"This forest is so dense, Onashi. How about you all take a rest here and let us, me and Hino, find a spot for our camp." Kohana suggested.

"Then do so." Onashi answered, agreeing with Kohana who nodded and told the Kamaitachi to look for a place before leaping through the trees in search for a camping spot.

The group then dislodged their belongings down the grassy land temporarily and sat on it as they let their body rest for a moment with the Ushi-Oni sticking close to the mollusk creature while the warriors were sticking to one another, except for Akko who decided to sit in crossed legs at the middle between the two groups. Suzako then suddenly decided to sit beside the Red Oni.

"Don't like gloomy atmosphere?" Akko asked with a small smirk.

"Yes." Suzako answered, eyes closed, arms folded.

"Heh, gotta say it was kind of intense." She then took a glance at the other group, specifically to the mollusk creature. "Though I was wondering, what kind of power this monster, what have do you think?"

"One that would probably defy the law of this world again like the ghost and the vampire." She then opened her eyes. "Especially that vampire. You know what scares me the most to that vampire other than its manaless existence?"

"Uhmm…" Akko tilted her head to the side. "Don't have any…"

"Its ability to consume both demonic and spiritual energy without any repercussion seemingly. It was the first case, in my entire life, which I had experienced right before my eyes. I see how it consumed both demonic and spiritual energies of the boy." She explained, eyes filled with fear recalling the event.

"Hey, hey, at least everything went right at the end so come on, cheer up!" Akko tried to lighten up things after seeing the expression of the Nekomata.

"Are you guys talking about Whampire? Well, it was, indeed, kind a dangerous gamble we know, but it was the only option that he had in mind and we are really sorry for that. Things were happening so fast that time. So I am really sorry." The mollusk creature suddenly joined and apologizing solemnly in its behalf.

Unbeknownst to the creature, its words came and heard by the other group who had rather… different reaction after it said those words, one that would easily scare a little child.

"So, it was indeed dangerous…" Aisa spoke, rage spurring out of her. "Then why did you do it? Do you know what happened after the abomination did that to the child? It nearly killed him! You are lucky that he only went into coma after that, but what would happen if fate did not favour you?! What you will do if that child died?! You, you, just what are you?! You monsters of the old!"

"Aisa, come on, calm down." Akko tried to cool the Jorougumo's head.

"Indeed, please calm down." Suzako added.

"Those things would not happen if not thanks to the dog always in heat, who let herself indulge in her own lust, a horny bitch, not caring who she will indulge her lust with. What a selfish mamono you are." Akui decided to join in too by inserting her own opinion or more like a provocation.

"What did you say? You want me to shred you in half right now?" The Ushi-Oni asked as she stood, flexing her claws as a sign of challenge.

"Hoho… Are you challenging me, whore?!" Akui glared at the horned spider mamono.

"Enough!" The mollusk creature shouted and stood, left holding the right arm of the Ushi-Oni while the other was facing the other group who were slowly unsheathing their weapons. "Don't continue even further than this."

"Uhmm, come on guys, we should consider the creature's words." Akko spoke nervously, trying to ease the tension while the Nekomata beside her whimpered a bit.

"Aisa, Akui, stand down…" Onashi told them as she saw the hand of the creature pointing at them. Not wanting to risk herself or the lives of her colleagues, she decided to calm the two, herself. The Kunoichi and Jorougumo listened and obeyed her.

Hino and Kohana had returned from the forest. The Kunoichi then noticed how distant the two groups were before landing her gaze towards the Red Oni, who gave a nervous chuckle, and the Nekomata who was fiddling with her stuffs. She didn't need to ask to know what had transpired. Mere looking at their expression was enough. She let out a tired sighed before starting to speak.

"We found a spot, follow us." Kohana told them.

They then did what they had been told.

**XXX**

**(Later…)**

The group had started setting their camp, and yet again their group was divided into two separate groups as they always did, a better choice of action. The group of warriors and group of… misfits. While others were divided the task, from setting the tents, finding woods for their fire and preparing their meals, Onashi was intently staring at the other group, observing them from a good distance.

"Studying them from this distant I see…" A voice suddenly rang on her side.

"Indeed, Kohana…" Onashi didn't deny. "I am curious and wary at the same, as always, of what that creature can do. The holes in its palms, I do know that it did truly have a function even without seeing it yet. After all, certain features like that would not exist without its own purpose, although there were always exceptions. For me, it appears that the creature was similar to Eatle in some way or another, however, I do feel strange about the creature… it feels so… mystical in nature."

"I concur." Kohana said, agreeing to Onashi's sensation.

"I do feel it, but it was so… blur, fuzzy as I cannot truly discern it. Perhaps Suzako would give us some light with this kind of subject." Kohana then turned her gaze towards the Nekomata who was currently sitting near their tent, preparing their food.

"I do not know what is it, but I do feel its mystical nature coursing through its body, a possibility that the creature possesses certain magical properties that we do not know of the kind so far. That is all there is I could say about it." Suzako briefly explained, confirming their suspicion about the creature.

"Just what in the world those creatures?!" Akui exasperated. "And what can this one even do?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I can confirm that it has a ridiculous amount of strength that is for sure." Akko commented as they all watched the creature carried a tree then dropping it near their camp with a loud thud on the ground, reverberating through from the mere impact.

The display of strength of the creature was already expected by the warriors, though; they were still surprised witnessing it firsthand. From their experiences and encounters with them, one thing was certain that they all commonly had, the ridiculous amount of strength which every single one of them seemed to have. Furthermore, despite the lack of number these creatures had, they do compensate in some way by having different kind of abilities, which they admitted, quite you unique in their own way. Not to mention the durability each had. Quantity over quality, quantity being them mamonos and quality being them monsters, a certain scenario that all could agree upon. Though it was not like they were underestimating their own kind, it was just that they were better than them, the monsters.

**XXX**

The mollusk creature continued its task and started shaving the tree with its branches for making a camp fire, segregating it from the main body of trees by simple breaking them. The creature then began cutting the tree into smaller pieces, cutting and reducing the tree into several parts. Seeing that the woods still had tidbits that would be annoying to sit, the creature started trimming the surface with its own claws to further smoothen them and make them suitable and confortable for the person who will sit on them. It was a chair of the sort that the creature had made. When it was done, it placed them around the supposed campfire. The creature then looked at the Ushi-Oni who was now walking towards the creature after setting the tent.

"So, are you done?" The Ushi-Oni asked.

"Yep, how about you give this a try, Seijun." Referring to the seat that the creature created that looked like a simple circular slab of wood.

Seijun raised a brow, then shrugged as she sat on the said on the object, arms folded.

"So when are you starting to cook?"

"After this…" The creature answered.

It then went back to its original plan. After it was done breaking every single branch from the trunks, the mollusk creature began compiling them on a grassless soil and it then placed several stones around it. It was all done now and time to light the woods ablaze.

"Need some help?" A voice rang which belonged to the Red Oni, who was carrying a piece of wood that was on fire.

"Sure…" Akko then tossed the flaming wood into the compiled trunks, setting them on fire. "Thanks anyway."

"Welcome." Akko was about to sit on the grass, but the creature stopped her.

"Wait, here catch." The creature rolled another wooden slab towards the Red Oni who caught it with her hands and placed it down, sitting across the two.

"Oh, how kind~ Thanks for this!"

"No problem." Akko replied as she stared at the two for a moment before talking again. "So, what is she to you?"

"A prisoner." The mollusk creature replied nonchalantly.

"That is so rude for addressing me like that! Though it was kind of true." The Ushi-Oni whined and mumbled.

"Then care educate me and share any term you could think of?" She simply looked away, feeling offended, much to the delight of the Red Oni who was laughing at the scene.

"Hahaha, damn that is kind of funny though." Akko commented.

"She is like that. Gotta leave you two for a while. Need to cook for a big eater here." The mollusk creature pointed a finger to the Ushi-Oni.

"Oi!" The mollusk creature then turned around and towards their belongings to rummage on their supply.

While the mollusk was rummaging through their belongings to prepare the dinner for the Ushi-Oni, Akko meanwhile, was staring at the fire emptily, causing an awkward silence between her and the horned spider mamono. Deciding to talk first and break the silence, she let out a grunt and spoke.

"Ehem, so… How's your day?" Akko asked the Ushi-Oni who raised a brow towards her.

"It is fine." The Ushi-Oni answered.

"Really huh… you seem bothered in some way. Care to share it?" The said mamono then furrowed.

"It was nothing anyway, so do not think about it much."

"Uh, huh… so how long have you been together with the creature?"

"Well, not that long, we have just been together for two days. Big Chill was supposed to be my caretaker, but he suddenly… switched with that mollusk creature since it said that it was more suitable in this kind situation, at least that was according to the creature itself." The Ushi-Oni replied.

'_Big Chill... So it was the name of another monster I presume. And by following a certain pattern here, I also presume that this mollusk creature is also a male just like this Big Chill person.' _Akko though for a second.

"I see, but seriously, you seemed really bothered. What is it?" Akko can't help but noticed.

"Why you want to know? Also, why are you even here? Your colleague seems to not like me at all though." The Ushi-Oni said, looking at the other camp and found most of the mamonos there were watching her.

"Oh them? Well, I don't really hold grudges on people unlike them." Akko scratched her chin.

"Is that really all?"

"Yup!"

"You are weird."

"Heh, so I've been told." Akko simply snickered. "Really, is there any problem? You can share it with me though. What is it that bothers you?"

"I do not know. I feel really guilty oddly. Like everything that was currently happening to me, the mercy, the treatment, it feels so awful, honestly." Seijun explained, feeling unworthy of her state she had right due to how kind those creatures treating her, like she had not done anything wrong. Now she does not know if she should surrender herself and face punishment or worst death or just do what the Big Chill had been saying to her, to self-reflect and repent for her sins. Both were heavy, but the latter was a preferable option if only she wasn't being treated so nicely. "I do not know if I truly deserve any of this. I do really wish that I had fought back and not let my lust clouded my mind because everything that is happening right now is so heavy."

"Well, that only means that you are regretting and sorry for what you had done." A voice interjected. The two then turned to look at the mollusk creature who was carrying several pieces of meat bathed in a special sauce that were placed in a in a wooden board. It then pierced the meats with a stick and started cooking them in the fire and spinning them at a slow pace. "Hey, glad that you two looking close right now. Not that I mind though, it was honestly good since she really needed some other… monster girls to talk with."

"Hmph! We are not actually getting _close _though." Seijun huffed her cheeks.

"Heh, acting like tsundere now, huh?" The Red Oni joked. "It really suits you though."

"I'm not a tsundere!" The mollusk creature chuckled at this.

"Alright, alright." The Red Oni raised both of her arms over her head, shrugging off the subject away.

"Okay, but what is a tsundere?" The mollusk creature asked.

"Oh, you know, like her." Akko pointed to the Ushi-Oni. "Anyway, you know what she did right? And her sin deserves a death penalty, so why keeping her alive? It is the law of this land, all criminals, whether if you are a mamono or not, all will be equally punished if it would be proven that you had committed a heinous crime like what she did."

This had caused the Ushi-Oni's eyes to narrow dangerously. She was about to talk when the mollusk creature raised a hand in front of her, prompting her to not continue whatever she had in mind. Seeing the expression of the Ushi-Oni, the Red Oni then raised her hand over her head.

"Seriously, why making such face though? It's not like I mean it in an offensive way." The Red Oni clarified. "It's just a question."

"Oh… Well, because I know it wasn't her fault, though not completely since it was her recklessness that caused her to assault a youngling, but we can't just do such deed. For it is too cruel and crude for us, especially that kind of law since it is too barbaric. And we refuse in killing because we believe in chance."

"Whoa, such moral though, and I can't help but to agree with the first part." The Red Oni complimented. "But seriously, have you ever wondered why such law exists?"

"I do." Water Hazard answered. "It exist to cause fear to the people who were thinking of doing such bad deed, isn't it right?"

"Yep, it's right." Akko affirmed.

"But that's not the complete reason at all. You know our Lord of this land is as cruel as he is kind, especially against those kinds of people. So mamonos or humans, no matter what you are, you will be punished for committing serious crime. A fair and equal treatment I might say. It meant to provoke fear, but there are still stubborn humans and mamonos, like me, who still dared to refuse to follow and abide. However, like I said, it was not the sole reason why a law like that exist in the first place. It's because this place, this part of land is filled with 'that'." She said cryptically.

"And what is this 'that' you are referring to?" The mollusk creature leaned forward, curious at what she meant.

"You will see along our journey~" She teased.

"Seriously? Can't you just tell me?" The mollusk creature requested. "What is it?"

"Nope." The Red Oni said, popping the last part then laughed. "Look at who was being teased now. How does it feel to taste your own medicine? Hahahahaha!"

"Oh how it instantly backfired." The mollusk creature exasperated and grunted before looking at the Ushi-Oni and asking her. "Hey, Seijun, do you know what she mean?"

"I do not also know, sorry."

"Ugh…" The disappointment caused the Red Oni to laugh even more at the creature's failed attempt.

"Hahahaha! Anyways, Seijun, huh? I think it we forgot to introduce ourselves." The Red Oni suddenly realized.

"Yeah…" The mollusk creature agreed. "We did kind of."

"You _did_ forget to actually introduce yourself to me though." The Ushi-Oni said to the mollusk creature who simply chuckle sheepishly.

"Well, then let us start." Akko then stood up, then pointed a thumb to herself. "The name is Akko, nice to meet you!"

"My name is Atagi Seijun." Seijun shortly introduced.

"I am Water Hazard." The mollusk creature introduced lastly. "And nice to meet you too."

"Hmm… Your name speaks volume of your ability. Does it something to do with waters?"

"Yep." Water Hazard confirmed, nodding.

"Oh I see now! Eatle – eating power, Water Hazard – Water power. Hehehe, I see what you did there. It's really quite… punny!" Oh boy, it seemed that Water Hazard found his new match.

"So are we going to talk in puns now?" Seijun amused even though it was cringe to her.

"Speaking of puns, dinner is ready so who wants to eat?" Water Hazard asked them as he lifted the meats out of the fire placed them a wooden board that was lying close to his side which he had picked up.

"Damn, that looks so delicious!" Akko complimented, looking at the meat with wonderment and desire. "What kind of dish is that?"

"A special marinated meat!" Water Hazard said proudly. "It's made by one of my buddies."

The roasted scent quickly streamed through the air and to their nostrils, causing both of the mamono to salivate slightly. In spite of being cooked in a stick, the meats miraculously still retained its sauce that was used to make the food tasty. Akko and Seijun simultaneously looked at the meet with great desire to dive and quickly ravage the delicious food. Water Hazard then gave the food to the Ushi-Oni while also placing another portion to the other extra board he had and moved towards the Red Oni and offered it to her who stared with wide eyes in disbelief as she was not expecting Water Hazard to actually share a portion of their ration.

"I-is… is this… is this really for me?" Akko stuttered to Water Hazard who merely nodded at her.

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"I am."

"Thanks then!" Akko then immediately grabbed the wooden board and went on to eat the _special marinated meat_. The Red Oni can't deny that it worthy of the being called special, from the soft texture of the meat and juice it gave out every time she took a bite of it was a perfect combination, not to mention the balance of sweet and sour. It was a food that can probably be served only to the royal ones. "Not gonna lie though, this food is worthy to be in a king's palate. It is really good! Thanks again!"

"Heh, don't mention it. A guy like me shouldn't leave a lady starving." Water Hazard joked, but the joke caused the Red Oni to arch a brow.

'_So I am right…'_

"Guy, huh? So are you male?" Akko asked for further confirmation.

"I am, yep." Was the mollusk creature instant reply.

"By the way, are you not going to eat? You are the one who cooked it though" She asked, slightly concerned.

"Nope, I am fine."

"Moving on then, you know one there is one thing missing." Akko then pulled something behind her and dropped it in front of them which caused the two to jerk in surprise. Staring at the object, it was a plain gourd containing ale that was tied by several ropes that allowed a person to carry it either by the hands or by the shoulders.

"And where the hell did you even get that?!" The Ushi-Oni question incredulously after staring at the rather giant guard that was almost half as tall as the Red Oni.

"That's a really giant gourd." Water Hazard muttered in slight awe.

The two mamono then continued to enjoy the delicious meal served to them courtesy by Water Hazard. The tree then spent the night talking and laughing about lots of things. Akko and Water Hazard were throwing puns to each other all along, causing Seijun to twitch her eyebrow in annoyance. It's not like she hated puns, but the way this two individual throwing puns to each made her. It was so bad that she planted two of her palms over her face, but at the same time, it was honestly enjoyable.

'_These guys aren't bad after all.' _Akko thought as she looked up to the moon above glistening under the night sky.

**XXX**

**(Far from the Kingdom of Fire…)**

Amidst the cold, chilly air of the night, as darkness consumed the place they were living in, the light of the celestial object illuminated a woman sporting a sickly pale skin, wearing a black dress with furs and dark veil. She, along with her sisters, had been born and chosen to weep perpetually from the vision, a gift and curse that were granted to them by the Goddess of Death, Hel. Those who embraced this gift treated it as a blessing while those who did not want it treated it like a curse. Both were understandable and right as it was in their own way as none of them could find joy in watching the death of others, only agonizing sorrow and lamentation, but it was a gift to them nonetheless.

"The catalyst has begun." The woman in dark veil said solemnly that seemingly brought chills and soothe at the same time, streaks of tears still streaming down on her face as she and her sisters looked up to the moon hung above them.

**XXX**

_To be continued…_


	12. Chapter 12

**_Ben 10 and MGE belong to their rightful owners._**

**_XXX_**

It was their third day since they had departed the town, the weather was always the same, almost, and although the sky was often moody sometimes as the lower clouds tend to block the sun for a long span of hour or sometimes almost half a day. If they could be honest, the moody weather was preferable since travelling under the direct heat of the sun was proven bothersome, especially during the noon where the sun is directly high above them. Bothersome because many of them quite quickly get exhausted, not to mention the still lingering hostility between the two group that never seemed to completely subside.

Kohana felt the pressure they were exuding even though none of their actions would suggest that they were about to murder each other. The sensation was similar that of a toxic fume, it was nauseating, suffocating and harmful not only to their body but also to their psyche which could possibly hurt a mind of weak individual, causing fear and trauma. Fortunately, most of them was far beyond that, they had molded and steeled their mind, one of the basic requirement in becoming a warrior. Their coping mechanism also helped too despite it varied differently from one another. Akko and her drinking was an example of this.

And despite the Red Oni's carefree attitude, Kohana cannot deny that Akko had some valuable traits she kept in herself that would only show when the situation will become arduous and dire. The Kunoichi was also surprised that the simple suggestion of her Red Oni friend would work. Akko had suggested to them to keep a distance while also, if possible, shutting their mouth, only in sensitive matters like the case of the boy. It was indeed helpful that the drowning pressure of negativity around them had decreased at least a little bit.

While Kohana was still on guard, glimpsing at the two group every given chance she had, Onashi, on the other hand was wondering why I warrior like would trust a stranger, let alone a group of monsters that could easily wreak chaos in their wake, should they wished to do it anytime. But all Onashi could see was a civilized creature, seeking acknowledgement, connection and knowledge, the purpose was still not clarified and definite. She wondered why they wanted those in the first place when they could just force them to do their biddings and whims for she had witnessed the display of wide ability they had already. Maybe they wanted peace and acknowledgement of their existence, a faction of _heretical monsters_, a group of mamono who had resisted the influence of current Demon Lord. That and there was still a doubt, the fear for any ulterior movite they still had. It was a possibility that was highly likely true. They might also stab their back anytime soon. And even all of this trepidation, her friend, Kohana, still had chosen to side with them, an action that shocked her to the core in spite of her cold unmoving facade. Many questions was running in her mind and those words the Kunoichi let out wasn't did not help much. It sounds so simple yet Onashi knew it was far more complicated than it was. Had she been blackmailed? Deceived? Influenced or manipulated in some way? Promised by power? She do not know which one was the reason driving the Kunoichi to do this kind of risky gamble Kohana got herself into as she had known the Kunoichi for far too long and she knew she would never do such thing… unless there truly a deeper reason behind all of these farces.

'_Just what are you playing, Kohana?' _She whispered inwardly before shifting her attention towards the other group that was currently talking to themselves, including the Red Oni.

Akko was currently poking on the mollusk creature named Water Hazard, according to her, a very odd name to be honest, but one that was actually useful in determining the capability of creature. In addition, the creature was also male, according to Akko again also. As expected of the monsters who had withstood the influence, they were a living mystery that everyone should be wary of. And as its name suggested, it had something to do with water. Perhaps it was the reason why it possessed certain magical property in its body, somehow since none of them was sure if that was really the case, even Suzako was in doubt of its existence despite saying that it kind of had. However, back to the current topic, at to what extent can this creature manipulate water?

Although water was not as dangerous as fire, as fire tends to hurt everything it hit, even from the lick of its flame can cause severe burns that would take a long time to heal. Water may be more preferable as it was known as a pillar of life as most living beings, from trees, to humans and even to most mamanos were dependent on it, but it still had its own deadly capability that fire cannot imitate.

Onashi stopped from her mulling when Akko suddenly let a whistle, returning to her stupor.

"This shell-armor is really amazing you know." Akko praised then knocked the hood of Water Hazard who recoiled after she did that. "It's very hard and sturdy, probably harder than metal."

"I know, but please refrain from knocking the hood? I kind don't like it." Water Hazard told the Red Oni who merely shrug.

"'Kay… but seriously, are all mamonos from the ocean who had shells are these hard as yours? Although I met a Kappa, it was still a different story since they only live by the river or lake. Never really seen them swimming at the sea." Akko explained while still tapping onto Water Hazard's shell. "And you don't look very much like them. You are more like a humanoid monster."

"Oh so you noticed, eh? I don't really have some answer as to why I look like this." Water Hazard explained.

"Ah, I see. What about your strength though? Is this the result living under the ocean and its constant heavy pressure?"

"It is the reason, right?" Kohana suddenly entered in during their conversation, the rest of the warriors were starting to eavesdrop extensively, or more like listening closely as they don't need to hide themselves.

As always, regardless if simple or little the information was, it was still an information that could useful in the future if all things suddenly turned into a direction that would threaten their lives. The creature whose existence was still unclear even its origin had been opened since the start of their journey, talking to them like a normal person, though the thought was funny but it cannot be helped to assume such thing, they were monsters after all, _heretical monsters_. Yet, despite its openness, matters that the creature considered sensitive and such still had the tendency to avoid talking about those kind subjects. As it seemed, these creatures were very secretive, as they expected no less.

"Uh, we don't live in the ocean; we live in the surface actually." Water Hazard answered, gaze still fixed on the dirt path that they were currently following in.

It was a path that would lead them to the river where they would cross and head straight up to the mountainous valley, a thorny and dangerous path to walk through unless if you were a mamono as isolated places that were far from human settlement like this were filled with treachery, the kind of treachery that will either bring you to your death or to your joy, forever in the hands of desperate mamonos whose lust cannot be compared to those who were living in or near humans. And most of these lustful mamonos were quite powerful on their own, a risk that everyone should consider except if you were a mamono of course.

But to a monster like the one walking beside them, it would be a mere cakewalk unless a mamono was wary enough to know that she was not looking at a normal monster at all. However, regardless of the danger that would befall to this creature, they were confident that it can withstand it, nonetheless. The vampire was an example of this. By defeating the Ushi-Oni in a single match, it had proven that their strength were strong enough to defeat such mamono.

"You don't live in the ocean? That was… unexpected." Akko muttered, she had really thought that Water Hazard lived in the ocean; at least it was what his look implied.

"True." Even Kohana and the rest of the warriors were slightly surprised at this.

O how many norms did these creatures had broken already. A mollusk creature like him that lived in land, it was truly unexpected.

"I'm not really into our origins, and since my species came in the Andromeda originally, there is not much as I could tell. Plus, it's not like I am that curious nor interested in the first place." Water Hazard never knew that a single line had caused to arouse their suspicion.

"Eh? But I think you should since it was the origin of your species! Don't you want to remember where you came from or at least take visit?" Akko replied, seemingly unaware.

"Like a pilgrimage of sort? Well, like I said, I'm not really into it."

"As interesting as it seems for a creature like you to not really care much of your species' origin, I am quite curious." Kohana spoke, not looking back the creature as she slowed down a bit to get a little closer to the creature who was still behind the Ushi-Oni and causing her to raise a brow at this action of the Kunoichi. "Where is this Andromeda you were talking about?"

Water Hazard coughed at the name he spoke out, never realizing his mistake until it was too late.

"A place very, very far from here." He said straightly without stuttering, excusing himself.

She let a silent snort out of her disappointment. Kohana knew going further would yield nothing as creature would possibly intend to talk in circle.

**XXX**

**(Dusk…)**

The group was still following the dirt path head straight to the river where a village can be also located nearby. Currently, the group was quiet at the moment with only the sources of their sound were their footsteps and grass and leaves rustling. There were also odd noises coming from the woods to their sides which they had ignored, assuming that those noises came from the animals nearby.

While everyone seemed to be in daze, Onashi had been observing the creature and its assumed water abilities. After learning this information from Akko, she wondered how strong this power of this creature had. Certain factors and variables may play in the role to force the mollusk creature in utilizing its ability, but it will be those things that would measure the creature's capability. Probably roving bandits of their lands would suffice, a common threat all across the world that seemed everyone had hard finding a solution to completely eradicate. Although their land was more peaceful compare to the west, bandits were not that unheard of. Just like the small faction of the Order in this land, bandits were a minor threat, but a threat was a threat nonetheless. Yes, it could be possible, should they encounter a group of bandits that is.

"Uh, what is this?" A voice in the front asked as they all stopped.

Everyone began to gather to take a closer look. There was a… no there were footprints and tracks leading to the river. Kohana leaned down a bit to take a clear visual while Akko kneeled down.

"So many holes…" The Red Oni muttered.

"And human footprints." Kohana added.

The dirt path they were currently traversing heading to river had seemed to lay for them to see. There were two of them, the other one seemed to be footprints of a footwear, whether it belonged to a human or to a certain mamono, it cannot be determined as of yet. The other track was peculiar in nature. Not only that it was consisted of countless tiny holes, the track itself looked like in a wavy form or zigzag to be precise, a weird sight to see if they were to given a chance to describe at what they were looking at.

"So many of them…" Akko then inserted a finger in to measure the depth of one of the holes. "Ain't so deep…"

"The way the other tracks look seems different." Suzako muttered. "It's almost similar to one of our companions."

"Yeah, not only that, there's a lot of them too. Probably a group was travelling here earlier."

"That doesn't explain the odd tracks, except for the human-like footprints."

"Probably a group was walking in column?"

"Possible, but why would they walk in such strange manner." Suzako pointed at the wave-like shape of the track.

"Okay, I give up." Akko ran out of ideas.

"It certainly looks like Seijun's and Aisa's track." Water Hazard spoke as he walked over them. He kneeled and inserted a finger to one of the holes just like what Akko did. "The creature appears to have numerous short spindly sharp legs, obviously."

"They kind of…" Akko nodded, agreeing.

"Moreover, the way this creature seemed to move is in rectilinear locomotion, though, kind a more like a lateral undulation in my view. I mean, rectilinear locomotion is only associated in heavily-bodied serpentine creatures." Water Hazard explained, unaware that his vocabulary didn't mean much of what he actually meant. "Though one thing is sure, the creature really likes to move from side to side."

"I don't really get the first part, but, I yeah, I agree with you." Akko spoke, nodding despite the lack of understanding of terms Water Hazard had used. "So, it's a snake?"

"Not a snake to be exact. More like a centipede." Water Hazard corrected, though a bit unsure.

"An Oomukade…" Kohana murmured as she identified based from Water Hazard's conclusion, or assumption.

"That is quite perceptive of you…" Onashi complimented, nodding in slight satisfaction which the Water Hazard thought of it in a different way. It was weird for her, who doesn't like monsters, now complimenting one.

"That sound so strange coming from you." Water Hazard replied wryly, but ignored by the undead samurai as it walked over them to inspect the tracks.

"It seems that a mamono and a human had been here." Onashi commented, inspecting that traces left by the two.

"Should we bother ourselves by it, Onashi?" Suzako asked.

"No…" Onashi shook her head. "Whoever the human was, he or she had chosen to be with the side of the mamono. Willing individuals are in out of our hands to be intervened with. They wanted this then let them be. After all, based on the footprints that the human left, it's probably an adult already. Let us proceed and pay no mind in these minor matters."

And so they continued...

**XXX**

Once they had reached the side of the river, the group quickly dislodged their belongings down. They sat on the side of the dirt, the grassy part, and let their bodies to rest for a moment. While most of them were sitting on the grass, Kohana had been observing the tracks that they also followed along the way, reaching the river. It was a dead end in that part as the tracks heading straight to the river cannot be followed even further, at least for a while, ending her little investigation. She assumed that the two went on the forest ahead from the side of the river, a forest that was eerily silent and gloomy, a path that they would traverse soon to reach the mountainous valley.

'_Hmm, there is probably on the other side.' _She thought as she turned around to the group.

A look of disappointment can be seen onto to their expression, especially Akko whose face was distorted in such a scary manner. And she already knew why.

"Great, I thought there is a village here." Akko groaned deeply. "My throat is already itching!"

"Wait, did you drank all of the gourd's content in one night?" Suzako asked.

"Yeah, it wasn't much."

"It wasn't much?! The gourd is almost half the size of your body and you drank all of its content in a single night! And where did you even get that? I did not see you carrying any gourd when we were starting to travel."

"In two actually! And I have my own secret!"

"What are you talking about?"

While the two started a little argument, the rest of the mamonos had begun setting up their camp where they could lie down their body and take a rest for the time being. Like the Red Oni, most of them, too, were disappointed.

"I really do feel Akko-san's deep disappointment." Hino spoke, empathizing with the red brute.

"I do too…" Aisa admitted. "…Except for her certain unnecessary necessities."

"Well, that fact that we are running out of supplies just makes it worse. Though luckily, we are near at the river. That would at least suffice." Akui said before looking at Ochimusha. "Onashi, can we slow down things tomorrow and wind up for a bit? Our companions seem to want to take a long rest even it is only for short a while."

The undead samurai think for a moment as she looked at the state of her companions before nodding in agreement.

"Alright then, let us take a long rest for tonight and tomorrow." She approved then looked at Kohana and Akui, she assigned them a task. "And for the two of you, Kohana and Akui, you both will need to hunt and gather foods for the supplies we need, understood?"

The two Kunoichi bowed their head in acknowledgement to task that was given to them by Ochimusha.

The group then readied their food for tonight's meal the same as always and with most of them filling themselves with rice rather than viands which composed of mostly meats than vegetables since energy would be needed importantly by their body, especially when travelling on foot and far. Although not entirely tonight since they were going to sleep, and it was the best for them to save more for tomorrow being that their body would require more during daily activities.

After doing the same phase for the last three days as always, the group then went to sleep with Water Hazard being awake as the watcher and for the first look tomorrow. And as always, the group had wondered how the monster was capable of not sleeping for three consecutive days, a question that doesn't sound much, but regardless quite an odd one. At least with this, they could have sleep peacefully, though not entirely since it was a monster, and like any normal beings, they would be wary of it.

As the night laid rest and the moon hung above covered by thin clouds, a new day awaited for the new journey tomorrow.

**XXX**

**(The Next Day…)**

The group, as again, began the same phase which composed of warming up, checking their equipment or cleaning them, and preparing the meals. Since they had been told by Onashi that it was alright to wake up late, half of them did so with the rest still waking up in dawn since it was fully ingrained to their body to wake up that early due to their habits and routines that their bodies and minds were accustomed in doing so, naturally.

While the warriors were doing their own businesses, Seijun had awoken very late despite sleeping early last night, thanks to absence of a certain loud, boisterous mamono, especially when she was drunk, while there was also the fact that she was, pretty much the same as them, tired. Speaking of tired however, that feeling cannot be apply to her dear companion somehow, Water Hazard, since the creature was not showing any signs of fatigue or weariness. Hell, he could even stay awake like for the entire day without sleeping. Well, it was a good thing that he doesn't sleep; at least there was a guard and a first watcher for them. Considering the fact that he had been chosen this job himself, the ease of sleeping during at night had been very well for her, for the betterment of her health and her body.

"Wakey, wakey, itsy bitsy. We got some a lot of stuffs to do." The creature spoke while setting up the fire spit for their meal today.

"Urhhhgg…" Seijun laid her head back down after peeking through her tent.

"Huh, still sleepy, eh?" Water Hazard muttered as he placed a stick over the two pieces of another stick before placing stones back around the fire. "Hey, gotta leave this for to you for a moment."

Water Hazard then left Seijun in her tent while heading towards the warriors' group.

**XXX**

**(With the Warriors…)**

Most of the warriors were now currently maintaining their weapons and equipment, keeping them sharp and in good shape to further increase their liability and longevity not only saving money, of course it will always be the one of the main issues, but to ensure one selves own safety. A very important factor that can be included while not being limited not just to them, but to the whole populace as a sign of being civilized, is discipline. It was one of the very basics that every warrior must attain to some decree.

Suzako was filling various ingredients and additional flavours for their porridge to make it more tasteful and appeasing, though the amount of various things she could add to their meal to make it tastier was lacking due the scarcity of supplies. Still, she did her best. While cooking for their meal, she glanced at Onashi who was busy sharpening her sword with whetstone.

"Is there something wrong?" Onashi spoke, noticing her gaze without meeting her eyes.

"Not at all. I am just looking, that is all." She said to her.

"Really, Suzako." She irked a brow after hearing that familiar voice.

"I see that you are awake and- Where are your clothes?!" She yelled, causing the Kamaitachi and Jorougumo sitting near the fire jerked in unison from the suddenness.

"What do you mean?" The Red Oni asked innocently, standing almost bare naked at them.

"I know what I mean, Akko!" Suzako rubbed her forehead.

Currently, Akko had removed all of her clothing and barely wearing any, showing her _glory_.

"I don't know what you really mean… Hey, Aisa, still got some tough silk there? I need to it make a spear." Akko asked.

"They were on my tent, near where I put my equipment. It is wrapped in a rod." Aisa told her.

"Thanks!" Akko then carefully rummaged through the belongings of the Jorougumo to find what she needed.

While the she was looking for materials, Water Hazard had approached the group which most of them quickly noticed his presence due to his mystical nature. The mollusk creature was eyeing at Suzako specifically, causing the Nekomata to raise a brow in wonderment of what this creature needs to her. The creature was carrying a small sack somehow and she could hear pieces of metals jiggling inside of it.

"Morning." He greeted.

"Morning?" She greeted back in unsure tone. "Uhm, what is it? I am currently busy if you do mind."

"Oh, sorry. I just want to know if you still have some of those seal or talisman."

"Ah, I think still got plenty. Why do you ask?"

"I need to buy some, for obvious reason." He gestured at the Ushi-Oni which Suzako easily understood.

"I see, but…" She looked at Onashi who was also looking at them, listening and observing to their conversation, head resting over handle of her sheathed katana.

"It is for the better, so sell if you want." Onashi answered her,

"Okay… I don't know how it will much, but do you accept this?" The creature showed a dark cyan crystal to her after pulling it from the sack. "If one is not enough, I can still show you more, but if you only accept gold and silver coins, I have a lot in my sack."

"Wait, where did you even get those?" The Nekomata suddenly asked, attention completely focused on the crystals.

"From a very dangerous place." His answered, briefly as always.

"Vague as always." Onashi interjected. "Though it make sense considering the exorbitant value those crystals would have. It was as hard to get as it was valuable, a fair exchange."

"You totally get it, don't you?" Water Hazard praised before looking back at the Nekomata. "Now let's proceed to business shall we?"

**XXX**

**(With the Kunoichi…)**

The two had returned from their venture in the forest after several hours of hunting and gathering whatever fruits they could consider as edible. Although the forest was dense, the pair did not show any signs of difficulty just judging from the looks. They were still as elegant before and after they entered the forest. And once they were out, the two immediately started to segregate the fruits and put to them with same pair. After that, Kohana carried the animals they had hunted while Akui carried the sacks containing fruits.

Kohana, due to the limited strength she had, had only hunted several animals, a boar and a little deer. She was… disappointed to say the least, considering the fact that many of them in the camp considered meat was as important as rice. Fruits and vegetables were good, but they were not as filling as meat and rice as the two make more energy reserves in their body. Yes, nutrients were important indeed, but one must take initiative and think of their circumstances like theirs. They were travelling, not staying.

As they reach the camp, the two saw Suzako talking with Water Hazard and was giving him pieces of paper in which she had assumed were the talisman she had. After a short interaction with one another, they went back onto their usual affair.

"Welcome back, Akui-san, Kohana-san!" The three Kamaitachi greeted simultaneously.

"I see that you two had returned." Onashi said. "How was it?"

"It was not much. The forest maybe dense true, but it was really not much of a difficulty to us." Kohana answered, dropping her hunts before looking at the porridge Suzako was currently cooking. "Hmm, porridge as usual."

"It cannot be helped. It was what we only have. We are also scarce in meat. But since I see that you caught two, I can make of something else." The Nekomata offered. "Can you prepare the boar and deer for me Kohana while I am still cooking? Aisa please, if you may?"

The Jorougumo nodded helped the Kunoichi carry the animals near to the riverside where they could skin and clean them to preparing them for cooking and consumption.

**XXX**

**(Back with The Ushi-Oni…)**

Seijun was currently in the middle of tying her hair in bun to ready herself in taking a bath to the river after she had skewered the meat over the fire spit, at least she was supposed to. But she decided to eat first before taking a bath, so that she doesn't need to clean again after eating. Then looking at the sack containing talismans near their belongings where Water Hazard put them, she wondered why he bought her a lot considering that he had done so much for her, adding up to the guilt within her.

"You shouldn't think about it, the talismans didn't cost that much though." Water Hazard reassured as if sensing her problem.

"How is that not a problem? You brought a lot!" She countered.

"Not a lot though. I just bough third-quarter of what she had." He countered.

"That is not even fixing the issue!" Seijun rubbed her forehead. "Seriously, I am starting to wonder how you get _plenty_ of stuffs. And how did you gather so much without getting any suspicious stares and glares? Heck, I could not even buy a single thing in a town without getting threatened by blades and stakes from the inhabitants let alone you monsters."

"Big Chill has his own ways." He shrugged, causing the Ushi-Oni to groan. "Hey, look at our stuffs for a while. I need go hunting because we're running out of food."

"Whatever." It was her reply only.

Seijun folded her arms and began spinning the stick in a slow pace, waiting for the food to be cooked, while, presently her other companion was busy readying his stuffs for hunting. And from the looks of it, her companion was probably going fishing after she saw him pulled some empty container that was made out of bamboo weaved into the shape of a basket before seeing him heading to the river.

Shifting her eyes away from the fire, she turned and saw a familiar red face, grinning at her from close distance.

Slightly raising an eyebrow, she stared at the near naked Red Oni in front of her. The Red Oni was only wearing a bandage wrapped around her bountiful chest and a fundoshi around her hips that was tied in a not-so-typical manner to cover her groin region. Instead of wearing it as an apron-type, the Oni wore it in a thong style. Though wearing it in a thong style was not unheard since during festivities, most men would wore it in that style, combined with a hanten or happi sometimes for processions, and known to be also used by drumming groups, but seeing her wore like that was quite odd. True but at the same time, enticing as it show her _glory_ that all mamonos were proud of.

Seijun knew that she will be ripped in muscle somehow as most of the Oni of their land was used in harsh labors, carrying stuffs that were impossible for humans to carry on their lonesome, but not the kind of rip that she was seeing right now. Now that she removed her armor, she could see them very well. From her pectorals, biceps, through her abs and down to the soleus, they were firm so well.

Simply looking at her made Seijun felt a bit jealous. Sure she had her own asset of proportions of her own, but seeing the Oni's body well made her self-conscious of the current state of her body. It was quite flabby despite its shape compare to the Red Oni's.

'_Ugh, that damned body.' _She swore mentally in jealousy before proceeding to ask what she wanted.

"No!" Seijun denied even though Akko wasn't saying anything, causing her flinch in surprised and saddened.

"Come on, just a little bit? You still have some I can see!" Akko tried to reason.

"No means no. And stop leeching! Go eat with your subordinates." Seijun snorted.

"But Suzako's cooking doesn't taste good compare to your friend's!" After Akko said that, suddenly a sneeze from the warriors' camp can be heard echoing. "It really tastes good!"

"Still, it's a no." Seijun still denied her.

"Just a-"

"No."

"Even-"

"No. You have been partaking with our supplies since the beginning of this trip. If not thanks to Water Hazard generosity, I wouldn't allow you. Furthermore we are already running out of supplies, so stop already." Seijun told her, causing Akko to slump over as she walked back to their camp.

After dealing with the Red Oni, Seijun began to eat after her was cooked before proceeding to her next task and that was taking a bath in the river. She then started to remove her clothing, or whatever piece of clothing she had since she was only wearing a demonic-like skull on hips that was covering her private part, and began sinking lower half of her body before soaking her upper part and her by pouring or splashing it, despite still wearing the talisman over her head.

She didn't care much as she knew that the talisman wasn't made out of paper fortunately, an Ofuda. Though if she would have the chance to choose for a material, she would preferred the wooden one, a Kifuda, since it was more durable compare to a piece of cloth or paper. Metal would be also a good choice too.

Seijun then shifted her eyes to the other group who was also taking bath at the same time with her. Except for the Red Oni, most of them were pieces of loincloths that were properly covering their private parts. Though luckily this time, the warriors were busy indulging themselves from the cold touch of the water, much to her delight and peace, an easement, as she could now at least enjoy herself without a fearing an attack at any moment. The short peaceful moment though didn't last long as she heard a shriek coming from the river.

There she saw a young mamono, probably in her early teens or pre-teenage year, emerging and running out of the water. The mamono had a green skin and carried a round-dish like object on top of her head. She also had a shell and webbed feet and hand. A Kappa as she identified what the creature was.

"Help!" She screamed hysterically while scurrying away and into the direction of the warriors.

Fortunately for the young Kappa, the warriors reacted quickly, grabbing there weapons near where they placed their clothes were. Onashi immediately helped the frantic girl; her blade was now in her hand.

"What is it?" She asked the young Kappa.

"I s-saw a monster, an ugly monster!" Instead of feeling dread, Onashi instead raised a brow at her.

"A monster, huh?" Akko repeated. "I think I know who she means."

"Oh, we already know who." Suzako rolled her eyes.

From the river, a head of mollusk creature emerged in the surface of the water, looking directly a girl. And yes, their hunch were right, it was Water Hazard.

"Uh, I think I scared the little girl." After he had said that did he only realized that he was now staring at the, almost, naked forms of the warriors. Though they may not be humans at all, the complete allure and beauty can still be felt and seen, which caused him to submerge back into the water.

"That was weird." Aisa commented flatly.

"So, it was 'her' that you saw." Kohana said after placing her weapon back to its sheath.

"Worry not, little one. For the creature was one of us, so you can rest assure that it will not hurt you." Onashi reassured to the girl.

"A-are you sure?" The girl stuttered.

"Yes, I am." Onashi replied. "How did you end up here anyway?"

"I was just wandering around; I didn't know I have gone that far." This caused Onashi to frown.

"You should know that wandering alone in a young age is dangerous, little one." She told the girl firmly. "Never do it again, understood?"

"Uhmnn!" The Girl nodded. "Um, can I go back to my village now?"

"Village you say?" Onashi leaned a little bit. "So, there was a village here after all."

"Yes! If you want to get there, you can just follow the reverse flow of the river and you'll find a village." The young Kappa informed them. "May I head back now?"

"You can." Onashi answered.

The Kappa then swam back and headed to the aforementioned village.

"So there is a village situated by the riverside." She heard the Kunoichi, Kohana, spoke.

"We took a wrong path, or rather, we took an early turn." Suzako said while brushing her hair. "Well, on the bright side, we now know where we to go next."

"Indeed." Onashi agreed. "Once we are done here, we will head there to resupply."

"Yes! And we can also get some booze! Hey, Kohana, wanna join me?" Akko invited the Kunoichi.

"I refuse to join this farce of yours." Kohana denied her invitation.

"Just enjoy yourself and do not attempt in inviting us in this foolery of yours, Akko. And moreover, what are you even planning with that spear, may I ask?" Suzako questioned her.

"This?" Akko pointed at the spear. "Fishing of course! You want to join?"

"I would rather have a fishing rod than spear thank you."

"You are boring." Akko then looked the group and found that none seemed to be interested in spear fishing except her. "At least, a single challenger can turn up the heat."

Akko then saw the water erupted and formed numerous pillar-like geysers; her companions also saw the bizarre phenomenon unfolding. Next after that, fishes can be seen falling from sky and unto to a specific area. They all turned their eyes and saw that the fishes were falling near other the camp.

"Hoh, I see a potential challenger." Akko grinned.

"Are you serious in challenging Water Hazard?" Suzako asked incredulously, there were no further explanations or evidences needed to know who was causing the bizarre event.

"I'm bored, what do you expect?" Suzako could only do was to sigh at her companion.

**XXX**

**(With Water Hazard…)**

He was currently now picking the fishes on the grass to put them in the bamboo container that he had brought along during their trip. With his firm grip, he held their slippery scales near the tail to avoid dropping them by accident. When all was done, he covered the container and prepared a bigger one since the fishes that he caught was larger than he anticipated.

"That's a lot fish you got there." A voice rang behind him.

He turned and almost stumble from the mere sight, _heavenly_\- no… Water Hazard shook his head from the sight and resolved himself.

"Oh it's you. Why are you here, anyway? I don't have enough stocks of marinated meat."

"Why do you two treat me like this?! I'm not some easy-"

"I'm planning to make a lot once we got some stocks again, would like one?"

"All conflicts has been uplifted, we can turn to address serious matters." Akko said instantly in the most formal way possible after hearing what Water Hazard had just said.

"Uh, huh." Water Hazard uttered. "Back to current question, why are you here, by the way, Akko?"

"Well, if you don't mind, want some challenge?"

"Meh, I don't know really. I'm not sure."

"Oh, so you're backing out, such shame. I bet you just don't want to lose." Akko's teasing caused Water Hazard to perk up for the challenge, a provocation that she wanted to work.

"Who said I don't want to lose?" Water Hazard countered. "I'm just busy at the moment."

"I had already heard such lame excuses like that." Akko shrugged. "I guess you're just afraid that you might lose to me."

"Want a challenge? Fine!" Akko then gripped her spear tightly and she grinned at him.

"Great!" She then looked to Seijun who was now currently drying herself. "Hey, Seijun, can you count up to three for us?"

Seijun raised an eyebrow then simply shrugged as two of them prepared themselves to dive in the river.

"Three…" She counted nonchalantly, causing the Red Oni to run straight to the river, leaving Water Hazard behind.

"That wasn't even a count." She shrugged again and saw Water Hazard followed the Red Oni afterwards.

The two groups then spent the day with the usual phase.

**XXX**

**(Later…)**

The sun can be seen setting from thehorizon between the mountains from a great distance, casting shadows and darkness everywhere as it did. The groups had arrived in the aforementioned village later than they had expected after packing up their stuffs from their previous camp to resupply their rations for their next destination. The group looked up at the signage post to the right indicating the name of the village. The name of the village was 'Kawaishi Village'. A name true to its appearance as the riverside was surrounded by rocks and pebbles that were as a large as their hands where village stood. Surrounding the village were wooden fences to, probably, fend any wild animals or worse, bandits. Though it wouldn't do much to the latter, but at least it will do its job a bit. Moreover, the village was lighted by lanterns that were either hanging to post or completely connected to it. There also some lanterns that were made of stones in some houses, a Tōrō. The idea of stone lanterns date back way before the current era they were in.

They proceeded along and through the crowds which were either buying some stuffs or having a night walk. Many of the inhabitants of the village were wearing the same Zipangu attires. It doesn't matter much to the group except for the one person among them, Water Hazard, who was now wearing a robe to conceal himself, though not exactly about the attire, but those who were wearing them, the mamonos.

There he saw a mamono that was similar to what he saw earlier carrying fruits and vegetable all contained in paper bags of sort. The said woman had roundish on her head and turtle shell, it was definitely, one of famous mythological creatures back where he came from, a Kappa.

Looking and turning slightly to the left of the girl, there was woman whose body was similar to that of a Lamia which reminded him of Yusa's friend. However, the woman doesn't have any reptilian skin; rather she had a long dorsal fin, a very short anal fin and caudal fin. The appearance reminded him of an actual Eel.

Then looking a bit to the right this time, a familiar mamono met his gaze. The mamono had a fox ears and nine fluffy tails, similar to the one he saw in the sailor's ship.

To side of the woman was also similar to the one who he saw back in the same ship, in of its cabin when he was treating the Blue Oni, Yusa, who he had knocked after her rampage or more like anger to him because of his supposed kind? Water Hazard still doesn't know the root of it yet, so he reminded himself to learn about them. Back the current topic; the said woman had a raccoon-like ears and tail… and pair of rather fluffy legs, way fluffier than her tail was. She also seemed to be carrying a lot of stuffs on her bag, Water Hazard noted, giving her vibe of that of a merchant, though for him, she also seemed cheerful and amicable. Her Geta (Footwear) however, were way too high for him.

And lastly, one of probably the most ridiculous things he had seen so far in this world was a mamono that had an umbrella on her head with an eye and a long tongue. She was currently being carried by a man around his shoulder. If an umbrella were to be given a form, this would likely be their appearance would be.

"Ah great, it's starting to rain." Akko whined as she held up her right hand felt drizzle.

"Then we should find a yado here." Kohana suggested. "There should be at least one to accommodate all of us."

The drizzle indeed was probably an indication that would possible rain so finding a Yado (Inn) where they could also dislodge their belongings. There was also the fact that the fog was starting to accumulate around the area little by little.

Water Hazard didn't mind this as he was still on his own deep thought.

'_Just what the heck is this world?'_ He groaned inwardly.

He looked to the right and saw someone selling souvenirs in a form of charms and talisman. Water Hazard doesn't know why but he felt his gut wrench after seeing them.

"Looking at the omamori?" A voice spoke to his side.

"Omo-what?" Seijun rolled an eye.

"O-ma-mo-ri" She repeated slowly. "But you know I feel like you will need one in our journey. Similar to my shinsatsu that were often times placed in altars as veneration, Omamori, which are dedicated to particular god, also serve as protection from any different kind of form of harm whether it's physical or supernatural."

"That sounds interesting…" That actually reminded Water Hazard of the runes, objects that could grant them power in every possible way like the charm rune which caused him misfortune before, however. "Wait, so if these were dedicated to particular gods, then how come I don't see any shrine here?"

"Beats me." Seijun shrugged.

Water Hazard then turned forward. And looking along the path, through the crowds, he saw a mix of wood and stone bridge with red hand rails that also had lamps in the river. Across to the other end of the bridge, a large arch can be seen before the gloomy forest. These arches were commonly found in shrines dedicated for the veneration of the specific gods. Furthermore, it had been a well-known structure across the land, these pieces of architecture holds history that can date back up to a thousand year in the past, a structure that symbolically mark the transition from mundane to the sacred. A torii, a gate that held special meaning and this one was painted in red, a sign of vitality and protection.

It supposed to give solace for what it symbolizes, however, for the certain Nekomata it was the opposite. An impending omen had washed Suzako's face after seeing it. Then suddenly taking a glance at the mollusk creature, she shuddered unwittingly. She shook her head as she tried to pry away those despicable thoughts.

The groups then finally found what they were looking for, an inn that was fairly lighted as than it should be with a matching silence in contrast to the usual boisterous one they had grown accustomed with. Like taverns, inns were sometimes filled with many people that were either looking for a temporary shelter or foods and drinks or all of the above. The said inn was instead filled with silence. It had two stories and was wide enough to probably have rooms to accommodate many visitors and travellers alike.

"Haiiro…" Suzako spoke the name of the inn written to a signage.

"Being literal, huh." Akko joked.

The groups then head inside and were met by a mamono standing behind the counter, wearing an obi painted in yellow with flowery and wavy design. Like the usual, they did not mind the appearance of the mamono, but to Water Hazard, it was always the opposite. The mamono had a pair of horns in her head and bat-like wings on her rear while also having a tail with the end shaped like an arrow or that of a heart. From the features the woman had, Water Hazard had concluded that she was a Succubus.

"Good evening, I am Miura Rhena and welcome to Haiiro inn!" The mamono greeted with great hospitality. "Due to the current season right now, you are in luck! We have enough rooms to accommodate at least most of you. And for that we are really since we cannot provide individual rooms for every one of you."

"A small problem I see. Worry not, we will share." Onashi told the Succubus, causing the succubus to beam in delight after hearing that. "How much for a room?"

"It only cost 2 silver coins."

"That was rather cheap." Aisa noted.

"Well, since we do not have that much customer, we had decreased the price." Rhena explained shortly while the two groups were gathering the coin.

"Here." Onashi passed coins that were strung in single bundle.

"Thank you! Let us help you settle in then! Dear!" The Succubus called out to her husband.

They then heard footsteps coming from the hallway of inn and a man in his middle 20s. The aforementioned man was simple, wearing the usual Zipangu attire combined with pants. His hair was fairly long, covering his upper eyelids. He was also a bit muscular, judging by the shape of his body. Nothing was really special to him other than his warm welcoming smile that promised comfort and safeness.

"Good evening, ladies. I am Miura Hiroko, husband of dear Rhena." The man greeted as he bowed.

Akko grinned at the sight of the man.

"Do you sell some booze here?" She asked, eyes still on the man.

"Uh, yes. We sell some ale. There is still a gallon left in us."

"That's fine. Hey, hot stuff, want to join~." The smile from succubus suddenly widened and turned into a malicious one while veins popping to the side of her head.

"I'm very sorry, miss. My husband is busy at the moment, right, dear~?" The man sweated as he knew behind the smile she was silently seething.

"Of course, let me help with your stuffs then." The man replied and offered.

**XXX**

**(With Seijun and Water Hazard…)**

The two had placed down their stuffs after heaving them up and into their designated room. The inn had seven rooms, not enough for them to have an individual room for themselves for privacy. Fortunately, most of the room had two beds, but Water Hazard and Seijun chose the one with a single bed since Water Hazard would not another as he stay awake all night. So, he instead let the Ushi-Oni occupy the bed since she will need it more than to him.

Seijun had lain to the bed provided by the inn with only her upper half resting over it and while the other half was comically almost touching the floor. Water Hazard walked over and to the table and chair that were currently standing on the side of the bed. He pulled them and placed them where the window was.

"Finally, a soft bed!" Seijun said, lying on her stomach while cuddling the small bed.

She looked at Water Hazard who chose to sit near by the window facing the gloomy forest ahead, a place they will go next, arms folded and resting on the table he had dragged along the chair.

"I think you should really sleep." She suggested to him.

"Nah, I rather not to." He refused. "You should be more worry about yourself, I'll be fine. In addition, have you taken a bath before lying down in that bed?"

"Eh? Maybe, later. Besides, I do not feel sweaty, and even if I did, I already rubbed myself with a cloth." Water Hazard then went back looking through the window.

"Take your time and rest." It was his brief replied to her.

At the meantime, he was looking at the person standing on the bridge, looking at the inn, at one of its window, their window specifically. He wouldn't mind supposedly since the person, a woman to be exact, doesn't seem so conspicuous at all, supposedly, but what bothered him was the length of her black hair and her appearance that he could describe as a ghost lady straight-out from a horror film.

He simply shrugged and thought that it was probably just a coincidence that she was looking at their window as he looked at the reflection of the pale moon above, a past time he gained during their trip.

**XXX**

_To be continued…_


End file.
